Nora Matthiesen, 3, says she wants to return to her rural Magnolia home in time for calving and lambing because “Dad needs his little helper to feed some of those babies on the farm.”
Nora, daughter of Jed and Deann Matthiesen, suffered a head injury in a Jan. 13 farm accident in which she was struck by a moving tractor.
She spent 16 days in a Sioux Falls hospital where doctors kept her in a drug-induced coma for a week.
On Friday Nora traveled by ambulance with her mom to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals in Omaha, Nebraska, where twice-a-day exercises are helping her get stronger.
Nora’s grandmother and Deann’s mom, Lori Popkes, keeps friends and family updated on Caringbridge.com.
“There are still medications that are continuing to work their way out of Nora’s little body, and that her body has a lot of work and strengthening to do that is all going to take continued patience and time,” she wrote.
“It is also a bit of a ballet when you work with brain injury patients to encourage/challenge and push them without over-stimulating their little brains and/or wearing them out too much.”
Nora’s recovery is progressing daily.
Ten days after the accident Nora was talking and recognizing visitors, including her 17-month-old sister Mara.
She has started to walk again with assistance and will stay in Omaha until she reaches all her rehab milestones.
“We continue to be incredibly blessed with Nora’s miraculous progress in her recovery, and every day that passes brings increasing strength for our little miracle girl,” Popkes wrote.
Community members have reached out to the Matthiesen family sending pictures of snowflakes hung in support of Nora’s recovery.
The snowflake represents the fragility combined with strength and resilience before it formed into one of God’s beautiful masterpieces.
A neighbor to the Matthiesen farm encouraged people to display snowflakes as supportive symbols.
So far Nora’s Caring Bridge site has had almost 170,000 visits since the posts began Jan. 13.