Publications
Partners
While many families celebrated Christmas Day with their loved ones, the Mun-Gavin family was facing a tragedy after their daughter, Kiara, 13, was placed in an induced coma following a near-fatal incident.
"Our precious Kiara is in critical condition after a motorbike smashed into my passenger car door and smashed the window right onto her head .... She has fractured her skull and some bone fragments went into her brain. She went straight into surgery", her mother Jaci Mun-Gavin wrote in a Facebook post on Christmas Day.
Fast forward into the New Year and Kiara has come out of the induced coma with a message to all her well-wishers.
"Hello world, thank you for your prayers," she said.
Kiara's therapists are hopeful for a full recovery which is "unheard of after her level of brain damage and restriction of oxygen," according to her mother.
The 13-year-old was rushed in for a second surgery where half her skull was removed and place in her abdomen, after her brain swelling was so severe.
"Her brain continued to swell, preventing sufficient blood flow and oxygen for 72 hours," Mun-Gavin explained.
The Mun-Gavin family were praying that the teen retained her functions, including personality, emotions, higher reasoning, speech and movement on her right side.
"The big news of the day is that we start discussing plans beyond just the next few hours. They're talking of moving her into the surgical ward on Monday and taking out her stitches on Wednesday.
"There's a neuro rehabilitation centre in another hospital and it's time to get on to the waiting list," Jaci wrote in her latest blog post on Sunday.
In 10 days' time, the teen will be able to see how her wounds are healing without stitches, thereafter the Mun-Gavin family will begin thinking about reparative surgery.
"The timing of the surgery depends on many factors. Some research recommends waiting three to six months.
"If her last surgery had a fatality risk of 80% - 90%, this next one to replace her skull is more like 10% - 20% risk to life. Wow, I don't like the idea of my baby having a one in five chance of death..." she said.
Keep up with Kiara's recovery here.
KEEP UPDATED on the latest news by subscribing to our FREE newsletter.
- FOLLOW News24 on Twitter
