6-year-old girl still recovering from severe injuries caused by wrong-way crash 6 months later

By Sydney Ferguson

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    ARKANSAS CITY, Kansas (KAKE) — An Arkansas City family is asking for prayers and donations to help their now-6-year-old recover from a head-on collision that nearly ended her life.

It’s been six months since the Smith family’s lives were changed wrong-way crash. Alexis Smith says she and her daughter, Elise, were on their way back from a doctor’s appointment in Winfield on February 4 when it happened.

“The vehicle in front of me made a really evasive move over to the next lane, and that’s when the wrong-way driver came into view, and they were right there,” said Smith. “I had zero reaction time, and we hit head-on.”

Smith says she mainly suffered bruises and lacerations, while her then-5-year-old daughter Elise suffered much worse — an internal decapitation and a traumatic brain injury. At one point, she lost all oxygen to her brain after going into cardiac arrest.

Elise was taken to Wesley Children’s Hospital and later life-flighted to Children’s Mercy in Kansas City. Smith says her memories of the days after the crash are nonexistent. Her story begins again with her arrival in Kansas City.

“I think my own brain just blocked everything out that it was too traumatic for me to deal with, and I just knew I needed to be there for my little girl,” said Smith.

Elise is still in the hospital six months after the crash, Thursday marking her 184th day inside. First, she was placed in a medically induced coma. Now, she’s in a vegetative state, unable to move or control her own body — completely opposite of the bubbly child her mother describes.

“This is my little girl who was perfectly fine, and now she needs me 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Smith. “Going from a very bubbly child, who I mean would talk your ear off — to pure silence, is deafening.”

Smith says doctors gave Elise a less than 1% chance of survival, and originally gave her and her husband two options: look into long-term care or completely withdraw the machines that now kept Elise alive. Doctors said she would be bed-bound and unable to do anything on her own for the rest of her life.

“Me and my husband both looked at them and we told them that they were wrong,” said Smith.

Today, Elise can breathe on her own and no longer needs a ventilator. Smith laughed, saying it was TMI, but Elise can now use the bathroom on her own as well. Her eyes are open and Smith says she’s expressive in her own way — her spirit unshaken.

“We were told so many things that she was never going to be able to do, and she is now doing them,” said Smith. “I know she’s still there. She can still hear me, see me, feel me. She just can’t show that.”

Smith says it’s faith in God that’s kept her going and her family’s joy is in the small improvements; a slight move of a muscle, Elise’s willingness to keep trying in physical therapy. Still, as the days in the hospital add up, so do the bills associated with this new life the family wasn’t prepared for.

“We had to buy an entire brand new house just to accommodate her. I had to buy a brand new vehicle because, obviously, mine was now totaled, and she has to have a specific vehicle because she is wheelchair-bound,” said Smith.

The equipment that would help Elise stand is $15,000 according to Smith, and another piece of equipment $10,000. The family recently started a GoFundMe to get help with the debt Smith says is insurmountable. In just four days, the family has raised $3,785 in donations.

“It’s been amazing to have a community come together for us and love my child as much as I do,” said Smith. “Daily praying for my child and keeping her in their thoughts, it really means so much more to me than any dollar amount could.”

The GoFundMe can be found here. Smith says anything helps, but if nothing else, just keep praying.

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