LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - In older neighborhoods where you see big trees, you'll probably find a swing on one of those big branches.
It was a tree swing in San Angelo that forced a little girl to fly to Lubbock on the brink of death. But it wasn't the swing that broke. It was the branch.
Boni Alcantar says the branch that fell was about 6 feet long and 12 inches wide. He says it struck Annsleigh, his daughter, in the back of her head and right shoulder.
Paige, her mom, says she was terrified when she saw what happened: "She was gray. She was not moving. Obvious trauma and there was blood."
Nine-year-old Annsleigh was rushed to an emergency room in San Angelo where they called for a helicopter. Then, the Alcantar family of six watched as one of their four girls flew off to UMC Children's Hospital in Lubbock with a devastating head injury to the lower part of the brain.
Dr. Kami Rogers, a Pediatric Intensivist, said, "Those are very, very sensitive areas. so it's a smaller target if you will."
She explained the 'target' was trying to control the swelling between the cerebrum, the thinking part of the brain, and the cerebellum and brainstem, which control the motor skills and basic functions of the brain.
The Alcantars said it was difficult to hear but they were grateful to Dr. Rogers for her honesty. She told them this could be an imopssible road for Annsleigh because it would be dangerous for her to go in to surgery, and dangerous if she didn't.
So, the team at UMC Children's Hospital decided to try whatever they could to bring the swelling down, with the least amount of damage to the brain.
Dr. Rogers said, "We had had a lot of hope and prayer and let her come out of the coma and slowly, because once you have brain damage, that's dead, that's gone. We're trying to save everything else."
Nobody knew if Annsleigh would ever walk or talk again..
Five months later, Annsleigh said the words she had learn to sign before the accident, I love you.
Paige said, "So when she said I love you, we lost it. and her voice sounded like herself!"
It was another milestone when she moved her left arm, which had been paralyzed for months.
And every little step was a miracle... leading up to her return to school in San Angelo for this fall semester.
She is in the 5th grade now and has learned to write with her left hand while her right hand continues to heal through physical therapy.
I hope you'll watch this story to see the amazing progress Annsleigh has made since this horrific accident.
It is also heartwarming to see the friendships that endure between the Alcantars and the friends who had that swing in their yard. One of them played a role in saving Annsleigh's life by giving her CPR until the paramedics arrived.
Today, Dr. Rogers says this about Annsleigh, "I would use the miracle word with this kid, absolutely."
And Paige Alcantar says this about the doctors and nurses at UMC Children's Hospital, "Just the way they love, not just the kids that are hurt, but the siblings of everything that was provided by CMN. You see the donations, and you think. 'I want to do what's best for these kids' but when it's your kid, it really, really changes things."