A parent’s worst nightmare occurred for Crofton’s David and Selina Taylor after their young daughter was seriously injured at a Vancouver Island park.
Sophia Taylor, just three years old, suffered a fractured skull and other injuries after falling 20 feet onto concrete at Transfer Beach Park in Ladysmith on Feb 12.
David and Selina Taylor have been glued to Sophia’s bedside at B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver ever since.
“I’m not leaving her side until she gets discharged,” said Selina.
“It’s heartbreaking to have something like this happen and somebody so young, our daughter,” said David, a City of Victoria employee who moved his family of four young children from Victoria to Crofton about a year and a half ago.
The long-term prognosis for Sophia is uncertain, but there are positive signs.
“She’s stable and she’s doing OK,” said David. “We’re not getting any answers what to expect. She’s just getting to a bit more consciousness. She’s opening her eyes and moving around.”
As for the long-term effects, it’s a bit too early to tell.
“That’s going to take some time,” conceded David.
Selina started a GoFundMe page to help with medical expenses and an uncertain future for her daughter and the response has been overwhelming with more than $23,000 raised as of Thursday morning toward a goal of $100,000.
In fact, the Taylors are grateful not only for the financial support but the many messages of love, hope and prayers they’ve received from near and far.
“We’ve been getting great support from the Township of Ladysmith,” David added. “Lots of prayers and thoughts and helping out.”
They also had high praise for the work of paramedics, bystanders, the air ambulance crew that transported Sophia to Vancouver and so many others after the incident.
“It’s been incredible, definitely heartwarming to have that kind of connection from the community,” said David.
“Paramedics were absolutely amazing,” said Selina.
She also couldn’t say enough about the handling of the situation by the Ladysmith Fire Department as well as the pilot and co-pilot of the air ambulance as Selina climbed aboard to accompany Sophia on the flight to Vancouver.
“Everybody was absolutely fantastic, trying to take my mind off the situation,” she said.
David was with Sophia and the couple’s other three young children at the Ladysmith Park. They had selected a picnic spot near a kayak shed when Sophia slipped through a railing to the concrete pad below.
“It was very chaotic,” said David. “When I turned around and saw she wasn’t there, I was panicking. I looked down to see her laying there. I knew right away there was concern with her head.”
David has first aid training and another person in the proximity was a pediatric nurse so they provided care until paramedics arrived.
Selina was at home when she got the call about what had happened and that obviously caused her considerable anxiety.
“When I first arrived at the scene, the paramedics were all there,” she indicated.
Sophia was taken by ambulance to a nearby location where the air ambulance could land for transport to Vancouver.
“They had to make sure she was stable and ready for transport,” noted Selina. “It felt so long, we wanted to get her to the hospital.”
The Taylors say they’re holding out as well as can be expected under the circumstances.
Selina said her husband has taken a leave of absence from work to be with her and Sophia in the hospital and likely will be off to assist with Sophia’s recovery and to look after the other children, Sophia’s two brothers and one sister.
She didn’t know how long the family will have to stay at the hospital or what recovery will look like. Part of the funds raised will assist them if they need accommodations in their home to ensure Sophia’s safety.
“With my husband off work to help with the family, we are unsure of how we may be able to accomplish this,” Taylor wrote on the GoFundMe, which was started on Tuesday, Feb. 15.
“I do not want you to feel pressured into donating any money for her, anything will help our little girl. If you can’t, please pass along the message and keep our girl in your thoughts and prayers.”
Now all the couple can do is wait and hope for the best possible recovery.
@_hay_tyler
editor@ladysmithchronicle.com
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