“She is a miracle child,” mom says of Bluffton 4-year-old injured by falling tree

Sonia Merrick watched her 4-year-old daughter turn blue as she carried the child’s limp body a quarter-mile through a forest behind the family’s Bluffton home on Nov. 17.

The gray day blurred as she attempted to give her youngest child CPR while hurrying toward an ambulance waiting at Calhoun Plantation Road.

Moments before, Merrick, her husband and their three elementary school-age children were strolling through the private, wooded property. It was a typical Sunday afternoon excursion for the family.

“We find different paths and different ways” through the woods, Merrick, a River Ridge Academy teacher, said Tuesday. “It is something to keep us busy. It tires them out on a Sunday afternoon.”

On that day, the wildlife, leaves and fresh air gave way to a 911 call, ambulance and a helicopter blocking traffic on U.S. 278.

A decaying pine tree in dirt made soggy from recent rains toppled. As it fell, the top of the tree snapped, tumbled and hit little Mirella.

The River Ridge Academy preschooler fell to the ground, unconscious.

The ambulance was waiting as the family exited the tree line.

In quick succession, first responders cut off Mirella’s clothes, and the ambulance rushed her to the waiting helicopter, which flew her to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah.

Merrick hurried to her daughter’s side at the hospital.

By her side

Merrick stayed there for the week Mirella remained in the Intensive Care Unit.

“She is a miracle child,” Merrick said. “How it did not crack her skull. It was a miracle.”

Mirella had minor bleeding on the brain, which subsided by the next morning, Merrick said. She also had minor fractures around her eyes and nose. She remained in ICU because of complications from the breathing tubes, Merrick said.

On Saturday, Mirella was released from the hospital. She is cleared to return to school Tuesday and is expected to make a full recovery.

“It it doesn’t feel real,” Merrick said. “I just have been in take-care mode.”

More distance to go

Getting back to normal isn’t easy.

Mirella continues to recover from her injuries.

Merrick has taken time off work to administer medicine and manage a busy schedule of doctor appointments as the medical bills mount.

Mirella has always been an outgoing child, Merrick said.

She often ran around her brothers’ football games, making friends with strangers. “Very bubbly, very social and a lot of energy,” her mother recalled.

That has changed since the accident.

“She is very shy, very tired,” Merrick said. “She doesn’t want anyone else but me.”

A closer community

The response from family and the community has been powerful, Merrick said.

“It has brought our family closer together and the community closer to us,” Merrick said. “People came out of nowhere to help us.”

Coworkers, River Ridge Academy students and fellow parishioners at Saint Gregory Church have visit and brought food.

“To see everyone step up has been amazing,” Merrick said.

A Go Fund Me page is collecting donations to help with the Merricks’ expenses.

This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 3:22 PM.