SHERIDAN — A four-year-old from Sheridan Wyoming has returned home after spending two months in a Denver hospital with a severe brain injury.
On June 10, Serafina "Fifi" Blue Day was playing at a friend's house close to a window, when she got too close and fell two stories to the concrete below, landing head-first.
"She said she pushed on the window because she wanted to feel the sun on her hand," said her mother Anastasia Harbour.
Fifi was life-flighted to a hospital in Denver where over 20 medical professionals were waiting for her.
“When you see that many people waiting for you like that, you realize how each second is so critical and how each action they take is life or death,” said Harbour.
She suffered from severe brain damage, a broken femur, a lacerated spleen, two spinal fractures, and half of her body was unresponsive. She spent 10 days in a coma, waking on June 20. According to doctors, there was a chance she would never walk again or would lose particular functions, but miraculously, she progressed in a way that seemed unexplainable. She was able to move her body more and more each day.
“Each day since then, she just blew our minds,” said Harbour. “Our team told us they haven't seen a kid progressed as fast as she had with her injuries. They thought we'd be there six months. We were there under two months."
What began as a nightmare and fearing for the worst, turned into Harbour's biggest blessing of seeing her daughter in action again. On July 31, not even two months after the accident, Fifi was able to come home.
“Our first day back, we had a bunch of people in front of my house clapping for her, and a little boy gave her flowers. I think the community loves seeing a miracle, and they love knowing that they had a part in that,” said Harbour.
The community supported her and Fifi through a hard time, one that changed their lives forever. Even people who did not know the family personally reached out to them in support, including many other parents who had gone through similar situations with their children.
While the little girl still has a long road ahead for recovery, her progress is incredible to see. She is no longer in a cast nor needs a wheelchair to get around. She has begun learning to walk and dance again.
“Each day she can do more, each day she can walk more. She's so happy for that because she knows what it's like to not be able to move at all,” said Harbour.
Watching her get around and play, it would almost be impossible to tell what her reality looked like just weeks prior. For many, including her doctors, they were shocked to see how well she was doing. Harbour accredits her faith for getting her and Fifi through a difficult time.
"I talked to some of the doctors when she was in a coma, and I said, 'Do you believe in miracles? Do you believe in God?' Some of them said, I have a science mind, but we have seen things that we cannot explain."
However, she does have some setbacks. The severity of her brain injury has not yet been determined, but it has impacted her emotions. Her left hand is less responsive. One leg is longer than the other as she experienced a growth spurt while in the coma. For now, it is too early to tell how long these things will impact her.
“Where she had the injury, it does affect impulsivity. It affects attention span. It's hard to say what will be severe because she's four. A lot of four-year-olds are crazy and don't focus anyway,” said Harbour. "She's frustrated about there's things she can't do. She can't walk normally, she can't run, she can't dance, she can't jump, she can't go to daycare."
Harbour is grateful that her daughter survived the horrible fall and that her recovery has gone better than ever expected.
“Every moment I get to see her playing with friends is just the biggest blessing to get to see her laugh and smile and play,” said Harbour.
While her progress in the future will still be uncertain, her family is just glad they still have the same smiling little girl back home once again.
“Now I get to know that I had a second chance with her and so if something was to happen again, I would know that I didn't take her for granted,” said Harbour.
