Bullied girl faces blindness

On October 22nd, during P.E. class, our sweet 11 yr old daughter was struck with extreme force in the face with a leather football by 1 of 3 girls who had been bullying her for several weeks. We had been in consult with the school about the bullying and mentioned earlier that week, we were concerned of escalating, harmful behavior. The impact from the ball, knocked our daughter backwards, causing her to strike her head a second time against the gym floor. She was unconcious for an undetermined amount of time. We were told both coaches were outside of the gym at the time this happened. I was not called immediately because my daughter was not sent to the nurse right away. By the time I was called, my child said she felt as if she were, "floating" and everything looked as if it were on a slant. I picked her up, called her pediatrician and was told to take her straight to the ER.  At that point, we thought she simply had a concussion, later we'd hear the words, "Traumatic brain injury" quite a bit. She saw her pediatrician, the concussion clinic and was put on rest orders. But over the next several weeks, she would not get better - instead, her vision and headaches became worse. She saw specialist after specialist. During the Thanksgiving break, when most kids were having fun, my daughter was undergoing several tests, a brain EEG and an MRI.  The results were terrible - our sweet, energetic, loveable, silly girl was partially blind in one eye. Fluid from the injury had built up and was causing severe pain and debilitation. The term for her condition is, "Pseudotumor Cerebri" or "Secondary Intercranial Hypertension" brought on by her traumatic brain injury and it can cause complete blindness.  

The utter thought of our child's entire life changing by the horrible act of another child, has shaken our family to it's core. Throughout her 11 yrs, teachers have raved over how sweet, studious and loving she is. She is the first kid in a group of 20 to wave vigorously, smile from ear to ear, give hugs and laugh like there is no tomorrow. She. is. JOY. And she is hurt. The sheer thought that she may one day never see another sunset or the face of her Grandfather, just leaves me heartsick. 

Many people have encouraged us to sue, but we have always been peaceful people who do not believe that harming another person, is how to handle problems. Now, we face this and we aren't sure what to do. 

Through all of this pain and struggling for our baby girl, the main bully has continued to taunt her daily at school. Our daughter is currently only attending school half days. Her headaches are non-stop and she has trouble seeing because of the vision loss she has already suffered. Her only crime was being a happy girl. Please help us find the best care for her, the best Ophthalmologist to heal her eyes. Little girls with happy spirits, deserve a shot at a full life. 

All money raised will take care of medical expenses. 

Thank you, 

Erin (her Mother)