Twelve-year old Holly has just had a heartbreaking accident. My granddaughter has had one real love in her life– softball, her sport since she started as an 8 year-old player for SnoCo Express Fastpitch after one rookie year. Shy off the field, but fierce on it, she’s been a top pitcher for the last two seasons, and her hard work and dedication have been a big part of her team’s success. But it’s going to be a slow start for her this year.

Two weeks ago at practice, she took a fastball directly to her face. Even in softball, a throw traveling almost 55 miles an hour over a short distance can do tremendous damage.

Holly was knocked down, stunned and bleeding. Her Dad, who has been volunteer coaching her from the start, ran out on the field - and saw that she needed immediate medical attention. With no time to wait for the ambulance, she was picked up, carried to his truck, and rushed to the Cascade emergency room.

We were told Holly had sustained severe facial trauma. Two of her front teeth had been knocked out, five of her lower teeth were cracked and chipped, the maxilla bone under her nose was fractured, and she had deep lacerations in her upper lip. Harborview Trauma Medical Center reinserted her teeth, wired them in, and sutured her lip.

Yesterday, she had two emergency root canals at Washington Endodontics, in the hope of saving her two front teeth. Her bottom teeth will likely need root canals and possibly crowns.

Her outcome is uncertain, and may now include dental appliances, more dental surgeries and a bridge or implants.

Both of Holly’s parents work at Compass Health, a nonprofit organization, and their children are on United Health Care state insurance. Only a few of the dental repairs will be covered, and it’s unclear how much of her medical bills. Family will help, but we are told these expenses could go as high as $15,000.

Holly has a long haul in front of her – final dental work can’t be done until she’s sixteen and her bones have matured. For now, we just need to get her and her parents through these next difficult months of procedures and bills. Holly still hasn’t been able to go back to school, and she’s devastated that she can’t be in the field with her team. She’s recovering slowly, but we are seeing some very concerning signs of PTSD – she’s had panic attacks, and her last dental appointment was a nightmare of hyperventilating and tears.

Thank you from our whole family, for any size gift you can give to help out.