CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — A 6-month-old baby who was rescued from a deadly crash is now home with family after spending just under a month getting treatment at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Pete, her family shared in a recent update.
"Many prayers have been answered and Lola is home," a family friend said in an update on Lola's GoFundMe page. "She has done better than any of the doctors thought she would."
Lola was strapped into a car seat in the back seat on the driver's side of her mom's car when a motorcycle going more than 110 mph crashed into the car along a major road in Englewood. A nearby Charlotte County deputy had seen the motorcycle speed by, and when he arrived at the scene of the crash, he found the motorcyclist had been launched into the family's car and was wedged through the window of the back seat on the driver's side, according to the sheriff's office.
The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene.
In that back seat, Lola was unconscious and not breathing.
Video from Sargeant Dave Musgrove's body-worn camera shows him quickly going to the other side of the car to get Lola's 3-year-old sister Ariel out of the car and to safety, before going back to rescue Lola. Musgrove was able to remove the entire car seat, still intact, from the car with Lola in it.
He then started compressions as he waited for medical crews to arrive. Lola eventually started breathing again and was airlifted to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital.
The organizer for Lola's GoFundMe page shared on Feb. 26 that she was released from the hospital and at home with family.
"We still have a long way to go. It will take 9 months to a year for her brain injury and skull fractures to heal," the update read.
Lola had been on a breathing tube for more than a week and spent exactly two weeks in the ICU, according to updates from family and friends. She also suffered from seizures in the week after the crash and was put into a medically induced coma for a few days. Since then, she has not had another seizure according to updates shared through GoFundMe.
"She is currently on medication to control [seizures]," an update from Feb. 26 said. "Some things such as developmental milestones we won't know until it is time for her to reach them, but so far so good."
Musgrove was honored for saving Lola's life on Feb. 28 with the "Back the Blue Award" presented by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody. Lola and her family were there to thank him.
"He will always be our hero. My entire family...we have undying gratitude to this man," said Lola's mother, Lisa Foley.
The family is currently fundraising for money to cover medical bills.