Seven-week-old McKenna Hovenga is in critical condition after a stray softball hit her in the head while watching a game with her parents on Wednesday.
It was family day for McKenna and her parents, Lee and Kassy Hovenga. Lee was invited to a recreational softball game in Shell Rock, Iowa, so they decided to take McKenna on one of her first days out.
On a Facebook post by Laura Heise, a family member, McKenna was nursing behind the fence in the stands when the ball went flying towards her.
Since there are a lot of stories flying around out there, here is exactly what happened to McKenna on Wednesday…
Posted by Healing for McKenna on Sunday, May 6, 2018
“Lee was helping Kassy get situated with a blanket over her, so Kassy could breastfeed,” she wrote. “Lee had his back to the field and never saw the ball coming. The ball came over the fence – and either hit McKenna first or hit Kassy first. We’re really not sure as it happened so fast and Kassy was looking down at McKenna as she was feeding. Neither of them saw the ball as it came over the fence.”
McKenna was rushed to a local hospital, then flown to St. Mary’s Hospital at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The baby was reported to have suffered from skull fractures, two brain bleeds, and multiple seizures.
The family’s neurologist said McKenna’s brain activity is calmer, and doctors have slowly been taking her off of her numerous anti-seizure medications.
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Facebook: Healing for McKenna
Her parents remain positive their little fighter will survive this ordeal. In a Facebook post, Lee thanked everyone who showered his daughter with love and concern: “It’s heartwarming knowing there are so many selfless people in this world that hope and pray for others.”
Heise set up a public Facebook page, Healing for McKenna, where the family has been sharing daily updates on the infant’s progress.
It’s amassed over 130,000 followers and received hundreds of prayers and messages of support.
One commenter wrote: “Like McKenna, Bailey was an infant at her dads baseball game and she was hit in the head with a foul ball. She had a lot of people who prayed for her and God heard our prayers and she came through. God is the great physician and miracles do happen.”
Heise also created a YouCaring account to help offset medical costs. So far, the page has earned $40,739 of their $50,000 target.
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YouCaring
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