BOISE -- A 7-year-old Nampa girl is recovering from surgery to her skull, two weeks after she slammed into a tree.
Taylor Babneau was being pulled on a tube attached to a four-wheeler when the accident occured.
Taylor is now out of the coma she's been in since the accident. Doctors are trying to assess just how severe her injuries are.
Her parents, who have been staying at St. Luke’s Hospital around the clock, take it all one day at a time.
Taylor is known for being a tomboy.
"She doesn't like to do the little girls things play with Barbies, play dolls. She would rather play soccer, rollerblade, bikeride, play football with her brother," said Taylor's mother Tamara Babneau. "She's very happy, she’s very active, she’s very vocal.”
But parents Ron and Tamara fear they may never see the old Taylor.
She's now in week 2 at the hospital with a fractured skull fighting for her life.
"It's heartwrenching. You wish you could take her place and I would do it in a minute," said Tamara.
On snowy days, tubing and sledding is common in the Babneau's Nampa neigbhorhood.
It was one of those times, that a 78-year-old family friend took Taylor out, the tube attached to his four-wheeler.
They say during a turn the tube swung and hit a tree.
They do not want to press any charges.
"She just fell off, accidents happen. We have no blame towards who was driving the four-wheeler. We love him like he's part of our own family and he's having a hard time," said Tamara.
The days at the hospital run together as they watch over their little girl.
Doctors are not sure she'll survive and if she does, recovery could take time.
"It may be a year or two they said even before she even gets potentially back to where she was before the accident so she has probably a lot of rehab," said Ron Babneau. "She's making some eye contact with us. Today it wasn't as noticeable that she was making direct contact. She does partially move her head and look around occasionally we'll ask her a question and she'll nod her head yes or no."
Taylor, they say, has good days and bad. But they believe their little tomboy will pull through.
"We're lucky she's here with us and I think she'll be OK. She's a fighter and she's tough,” said Tamara Babneau.
Taylor's parents say they trust the man who took Taylor out last month.
They have no reason to believe he was unsafe, in fact, he's taken their kids out before.
They don't regret letting her play, they only wish she had a helmet.
The Babneaus have set up an account at Idaho Central Credit Union for Taylor’s medical expenses and lost wages as they take care of their daughter.
