Father recalls daughter's 'tragic accident' Jessie Keaton By Andy Matthews Published: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 3:45 PM EDT Editor
COURTNEY — The father of the six-year-old girl who was critically injured more than two weeks ago when she fell off a tractor and was caught under the machine's large mower called it a "tragic accident" for which he can never forgive himself.
"You hear about these things all over the place. This time, it just hit too close to home," Jason Keaton said Tuesday afternoon. "There have been a lot of stories about what happened, but I was there. I know what happened . . . My main concern right now is Jesse. If I could take her place, I would in a heartbeat."
In his first interview since the accident, Jason Keaton said that he was still trying to come to grips with the horrific nature of his daughter's accident. At times inconsolable and often blaming himself for Jesse Keaton's injuries, friends and family say that the elder Keaton has struggled to cope with the lingering image of that afternoon.
* Keaton said that he has gone over the accident in his head too many times to count. He recalls that his son, five-year-old Jase, was riding on the left hand side of the tractor and Jesse was at his right. Keaton was nearly done mowing a hayfield on his property at 1101 U.S. 601 South near the Davie/Yadkin county lines.
"There was definitely no horseplay or alcohol . . . I never cut up or anything," Keaton recalled. "I was just making a little hay . . . She (Jesse) just fell in a bad place. I wasn't going fast or turning. That's pretty much what happened."
Keaton immediately jumped off the tractor and pulled his daughter from the bush hog and called 911. Emergency first responders, including members of the Courtney Volunteer Fire Department and the Yadkin County EMS, rushed to the scene. Although critically injured, Jesse was still conscious.
She remains at Brenner Children's Hospital in Winston-Salem where she has undergone several operations, according to her mother, Loretta Lynn McGee. Despite their best efforts, doctors were forced to amputate Jesse's right leg amputated below the knee, and part of her left ring finger. Doctors, who have kept the girl heavily sedated for most of her hospital stay, are also tending to a large cut to the back of her head.
"She's been in a lot of pain today and yesterday," McGee said as her daughter's screams could be heard in the background during a short telephone interview. "But she's still in good spirits."
Like Keaton, McGee said that she has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of emotions from the community.
"We're just appreciating all the prayers that are going out to her," McGee said. "She still has a long road ahead of her, but she's come a long way . . . I'm just grateful that I still got her."
If it weren't for the constant moral and emotional support from friends and family, Keaton said that he's not sure he could have survived. So many people, he said, have called, trying to ease his guilt, he said. Keaton said that he's thankful for the prayers.
"I don't know how in the world I am going to be able to thank all of the people in the community," he said. "They've been so concerned, caring and thoughtful and I've received support from everybody."
For those who wish to contribute to the family's medical bills, an account has been established at the Southern Community Bank & Trust and Wachovia branches in Yadkinville. Brenda Jester, who can be reached at 961-3505, has also scheduled an Aug. 2 fundraiser at Ross Crissman's farm on Lime Rock Road in the Fall Creek community.
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