A little girl’s fight for life ended in a Maine hospital for four days after a horrific accident while playing badminton with her 10-year-old brother during an idyllic family lake vacation.
Lucy Morgan, six, was hit in the head by part of her brother’s racket when it disintegrated as he played a shot on the last full day of their holiday in Limerick.
The girl was flown to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where her family was told she had suffered a catastrophic brain injury in the freak accident on June 1.
With no hope of recovery, her three young siblings joined their parents at her bedside to sing her favorite hymn for the last time before their little ‘Miss Independent’ died in the early hours of Wednesday.
“This is such a sad, tragic situation,” Maine State Police said. “Our hearts break for the family.”
Six-year-old Lucy Morgan died after a freak accident in which she was hit in the head by her young brother’s badminton racket when it fell apart during a match
The young family prepared to return to their home in Stockholm, New Jersey, after enjoying a week of kayaking and outdoor activities
The young family was preparing to return to their home in Stockholm, New Jersey, after enjoying a week of kayaking and outdoor activities.
They had just finished lunch by the lake when the four children, ages 4 to 10, went to the front yard to play badminton, said father Jesse Morgan, who is a pastor.
“Bethany and I were relaxing in the back when we heard screaming,” he added.
‘A freak accident involving a racket that broke on a downward swing resulted in a sharp piece penetrating Lucy’s skull as she sat on the sidelines, causing catastrophic injury.’
The aluminum shaft had broken loose from the wooden handle and struck Lucy on the head, rendering her unconscious and unresponsive.
She was taken by EMS to a local hospital and then by helicopter to Portland, where surgeons removed part of her skull to relieve pressure on her brain.
She was resuscitated after going into cardiac arrest on the operating table, but doctors told the family she had a negligible chance of recovery.
Morgan, pastor at Green Pond Bible Chapel in Rockaway Township, began documenting his daughter’s fight for his life over the next four days on his church blog.
The young family was enjoying an idyllic lake vacation in Maine when the tragedy occurred
Lucy was airlifted to Portland, where she went into cardiac arrest when surgeons removed part of her skull to relieve pressure on her brain.
And the next day, devastated parents had to tell Lucy’s siblings that their sister was unlikely to recover.
“When we walked into the hospital room that the staff had generously given us, three little people were sleeping soundly,” their father wrote.
‘It hit us so hard at that moment that there were only three and not four. We broke the news as kindly as possible, but that’s a conversation you never want to have with a four-year-old, eight-year-old or ten-year-old.
‘Shiloh broke down immediately. She and Lucy are best friends because they are the middle girls.
‘She couldn’t imagine sleeping alone in her room. AJ was slow-witted and just wanted to be held, and then fell into his typical four-year-old machine gun interrogation style.
‘Silas tried to hold back like a tough boy, but then burst into tears: ‘I don’t want to be a family of five’.’
The family began receiving hundreds of messages from well-wishers as news of Lucy’s condition spread. “Thank you all for helping me hope,” Jesse wrote.
‘Ninety percent of the messages I receive, I have no idea who they came from. You are wonderful people who are used by God to bring comfort.”
But on Monday it became clear that the end was near. It was written that there was a ‘significant lack of brain function’, which left them confronted with a reality that was ‘utterly devastating’.
“If there is any good news, it is that she has not felt any pain in the past few days,” the pastor added.
The four children had enjoyed kayaking and outdoor activities for a week before the accident
Father Jesse Morgan said the family ‘can’t imagine life without Lucy-Goose’
The day passed in a ‘haze’ as a series of neurologists confirmed the prognosis and the family prepared for their final farewells.
As part of their final farewell, Jesse said the family sang three verses of “He Will Hold Me Fast” in what he described as “one of the most beautiful, sacred things I’ve ever been a part of.”
Brain death was diagnosed at 1:32 a.m. on June 5, and her heart stopped beating around 4 a.m. that morning.
“I just taught a lesson on coping with grief in the last adult Bible class I taught before the sabbatical,” Jesse wrote.
‘Am I willing to submit to my own advice? Right now I’m holding her hand. I’m not sure, but I want to.
‘We’re hanging in there, but we can’t imagine life without Lucy-Goose.’
a GoFundMe.com The family support fund has raised more than $93,000 from more than 850 donors.
Lucy’s funeral will take place Saturday at 11 a.m. ET and will be streamed live at www.greenpondbible.org.