Missouri teenager Kaylee Gain, who was savagely attacked in a school fight, has been photographed for the first time since leaving hospital , smiling while enjoying a meal with her family.
The family posted the image of the young girl seated in a restaurant on their GoFundMe page. They revealed that Kaylee underwent surgery on 1 June to "put her bone flap back in place".
"This will help reduce her dizzy spells and hopefully some of the headaches," Kaylee's father Clint wrote on 1 June. "Once the incision is healed, she can finally take off the helmet she has to wear all the time. Kaylee is in good spirits today. She will continue additional PT and speech therapy over the next few weeks."
Kaylee had to wear a helmet whenever she was out of bed because her left bone flap had been removed to allow her brain to swell and heal, according to her family. Clint continued: "We are truly amazed by how well her recovery has gone and as always, we appreciate the ongoing support and prayers! Attached is a recent pic of our girl enjoying dinner with her family."
So far, Kaylee's recovery fundraiser has raised $52,897 towards a goal of $100,000 from more than 1,000 donations. Thousands have seen video footage of Kaylee having her head slammed into the ground by another girl in videos recorded by schoolmates on their phones and uploaded to social media, reports the Mirror US .
Kaylee was left convulsing on the ground and ended up in a coma for days as she suffered a fractured skull and internal bleeding in the head following a fight near Hazelwood East High School in St Louis, Missouri on March 8. In an update in April her family said she was able to walk again, though she needed a belt for support due to issues with balance and equilibrium.
Kaylee suffers from difficulties with her short-term memory and often finds herself stuck in repetitive thought loops, according to her family. They said it affects her ability to retain and recall new information.
The 15 year old suspected attacker has been charged with felony assault. Last month it was decided that she would not be tried as an adult after a court heard claims that she was bullied by her victim.
A St. Louis judge decided that the case will stay in the juvenile court system after reviewing the alleged attacker's school history and meeting with her family.
The accused teen's family claim she was acting in self-defense and that they've received racial threats since the incident.
A juvenile officer testified in court that both parties acknowledged Kaylee had started the fight and that she'd been suspended from school for fighting with another girl just a day before the incident. Lawyers for the teen's family have been fighting to get her released from the juvenile facility she is being held in but the judge also ruled that she will remain in detention until her trial begins.
In a heartfelt court statement, Kaylee's stepmother disclosed: "While our daughter will, in all likelihood, need lifelong medical care and therapy to overcome the injuries and trauma that were inflicted on her, we pray that the juvenile shows remorse and takes accountability for her actions so that no one else's lives are so irreversibly changed in the future."
Additionally, she mentioned: "A terrible choice was made by two teenage girls to solve their issues through violence. This caused one of them to go too far with their bare hands and a concrete road."
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