- Video shows Kimmie Garrett, a nine-year-old girl from Jackson who recently lost her legs and parts of her hands, due to medical complications that stemmed from Influenza A.
- Parents, John and SharRonnie Garrett say that she almost lost her life during a brain procedure, but miraculously recovered.
- Kimmie still enjoys art and sports and is looking forward to learning and adapting to those hobbies without her hands or legs.
"The worst news you want to hear is that you have a couple of hours of life left with your child," says John Garrett. This news came to him and his wife ShaRonnie in February when their 9-year-old daughter caught Influenza A.
Kimmie's case of Influenza led the family down a tumultuous road of medical complications. From heart attacks to multiple strokes, and a brain hemorrhage that led to a procedure doctors thought may have been her last. "We were given the option to either let her pass away in bed or pass away on the operating table, and I just asked the neurosurgeon to try," says John.
In what her parents are calling a miracle, Kimmie survived. However, a loss of oxygen to Kimmie's hands and feet left doctors with no choice. Kimmie shares, "I got very sick. My hands and feet got really black. Then, they were no good anymore, so they had to go."
Now, after fighting for her life, this nine-year-old girl is fighting for the life she's always wanted. Kimmie is now adapting to her love of sports and art, just in a new way. "It's been amazing to see," says SharRonnie, "to see Kimmie come out of the ICU and do all these things we were told she probably wouldn't be able to do." John adds, "She didn't lose her personality. She didn't lose her memory. Those things were most important to us. Yes, she's lost a lot, (but) to keep that was just so amazing."
A story that is unimaginable for any kid, but nothing Kimmie couldn't handle. "I felt brave," she says. "Cause I trusted the process." Kimmie is most looking forward to learning to play basketball again, and plans on getting prosthetics in September
Kimmie's advice:
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