Waukesha tragedy: Jessalyn Torres, 11, who asked docs to 'glue her back' fighting to stay alive
WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN: One of the youngest victims of the Waukesha Holiday parade tragedy, Jessalyn Torres continues to battle for her life in the hospital. She lies unconscious in the hospital and is breathing with the help of a ventilator. Her devastated mother Amber Kohnke spoke to the New York Post revealing her daughter spent Thanksgiving in the hospital fighting to stay alive. Torres, 11, is one of the nine children that were injured in the crash on November 21 as Darrell E. Brooks barrelled into the parade in his red Ford Escape. Witnesses reported they saw bodies flying during the massacre.
The other children victims of this tragedy included the Sparks brothers - Tucker and Jackson. The latter had to undergo emergency brain surgery right after being admitted to the hospital. He fought for his life for a day before succumbing to his injuries while his brother Tucker miraculously survived and is getting better each day. Officials said 16 children were brought to Children's Wisconsin on the day of the tragedy and they were able to treat and send home the other two kids. As of November 26 afternoon, four kids were in serious condition, three were doing decently, and two were in good condition - none of them were critical, according to a report.
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Jessalyn Torres begged doctors to glue her together
Torres was at the parade with her mother and her two-year-old sister Averie. She was a parade participant, performing with the Waukesha Xtreme Dance group when she was hit by the red SUV. She was admitted to the hospital with a broken pelvis, a lost kidney, lacerations on her lungs and remaining kidney, and internal bleeding. Her uncle reveals how Torres told her mother on the phone, "tell them to just glue me back together." He said Torres doesn't clearly remember what happened, nor do the other kids. "They decided to do the intubation after that to make her more stable. I think she's confused, she doesn't really understand what happened. A lot of these kids are confused, they don't know how to feel. They're all going through this in their own way, and most of them saw it," he said.
Kohnke described the anguish she feels at watching her daughter being in the situation she is now. “The hardest part was not being with everyone and Jessalyn, in the condition she is, was not able to be with her family either,” she said. “No mother should ever go through this. This is a very traumatic ordeal," Kohnke added. A GoFundMe campaign created for Torres has helped raise $60,508 out of the $65,000 goal with the help of over 1,400 donors to help with the staggering medical costs. The campaign is also providing regular updates on Torres's condition, click here in case your wish to donate or keep up with the updates. Kohnke provided an update an hour before this writing on her Facebook page, to read it click here.