A five-year-old girl from Louisiana is lucky to be alive following a horrific go-kart accident. Lani Use was riding the go-kart during a family party when her hair got stuck in the motor. The motor pulled her head back, and she fractured her skull in four places due to the impact. Her stepfather used a knife to cut her hair and free her from the motor.
Her parents rushed her to a local hospital, but doctors had to airlift her to a trauma center in New Orleans for emergency surgery.
“The right side of her scalp was just hanging off,” Lani's mother Macie said. “It was ripped from the front all the way to the nape of her neck. She was drifting in and out of consciousness, and her eyes were rolling into the back of her head.”
Doctors were able to perform a minor miracle and repaired the lacerations to her brain while using six dissolvable plates to put her skull back together. They were also able to cover the massive head wound without putting the young girl through an extremely painful skin graft operation.
Lani is slowly recovering following the accident. While she has been released from the hospital and returned to school, she has weakness on the left side of her body and issues with her vision. She has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and has problems with loud noises.
"Lani loved dancing and cheering before the accident," Macie said. "She has to be careful now with her brain injury. She can't tumble, and loud noises scare her."
She also suffers from seizures and doctors are still trying to identify what is causing them. Her parents are planning to meet with more doctors and specialists to determine the full extent of her brain damage and decide if she will need more surgeries in the future.
While Lani recovers, her parents are warning others to be careful when letting their children drive around in go-karts because even if you take precautions, tragedy can still strike at any time.
“I want to share my story, so another child doesn’t have to go through the pain my daughter has endured,” Macie said.