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Little Monica Hatfield is finding out that a lot of area people care about her. The Hacienda Restaurant in Warsaw helped contribute to her trust fund Monday.
The infant girl was orphaned June 12 when her parents, Heather Florey, 16, and Aaron Hatfield, 17, were killed in a car accident in Warsaw.
At least one miracle came out of the tragedy of the car accident that changed so many lives forever.
One of them is Monica Hatfield. The 6-1/2-month-old girl was airlifted to Parkview Memorial Hospital, Fort Wayne, shortly after the accident. She was in critical condition for several days with injuries that included a multi-fractured skull and a lacerated kidney.
"Her age was the reason she made it," said Monica's maternal grandmother, Pamela Hiers.
Hiers compared Monica's skull fracture to an egg that is cracked and all the pieces are shattered. But the fracture allowed Monica's brain room to swell, Hiers said.
Another miracle occurred when the swelling came down and the pieces of Monica's skull were in the right spots to begin to heal. Surgery was planned to repair her kidney, but it began to work on its own so doctors did not operate.
Hiers said the car seat Monica was restrained in during the accident helped save her life. Paramedics transported her in the seat to the hospital to Fort Wayne.
When doctors finally removed her, the car seat fell apart.
To look at Monica now, one would never know the child has gone through tragedy. As her grandmother cradled her, the lively little girl with blue eyes and surprisingly long, thick black hair made grabs toward anything lying on a table.
Her chubby cheeks and legs look flawless. Monica has a smile and laugh that attract total strangers to stop and touch her chubby little fists and brush back her hair.
"This is the way she was before the accident," Hiers said, calling Monica a "happy baby."
The only caution Hiers makes is to hold Monica like a newborn, supporting her neck and delicate skull.
Hiers said she plans to raise Monica with memories of Heather and Aaron. Hiers plans to keep pictures of her daughter and Aaron for Monica.
Now, when Hiers shows Monica photos of her parents, Monica reaches for the pictures of her mother. "She misses her mom," Hiers said of Monica.
"Heather was an excellent mom," Hiers said. "She took full care of the baby. ... She loved her baby so much."
Monica, called "the miracle baby" by her grandmother, is the reason Hiers keeps going, she said. "The grandbaby is holding us together. ... We're hanging in there," Hiers said of her and Aaron's mother.
"I don't want anyone else to take care of her," Hiers said of Monica. She quit her full-time job to be able to stay home with the baby.
The Warsaw Hacienda donated 25 percent of all sales Monday, adding $1,623.23 to Monica's trust fund. The trust fund will be used for Monica to go to college when she is 18.
Restaurant general manager Duane Picking said that the restaurant program Hacienda Givesback Fiesta enables fundraisers for nonprofit groups.
Picking said he has four children and was upset and concerned about the accident. Hacienda agreed and coordinated the fund-raising event. Picking also said Hacienda makes it a habit to get involved with the community.
Hiers, her daughter, Michelle Florey, and Monica had lunch at the restaurant.
"Some days are good; some days she just cries," Hiers said of Monica.
She was released from Parkview Thursday. Tiffany Bartley, 13, the other survivor of the accident, was also released from the hospital. Bartley's younger brother, Tyler, 12, was killed in the accident.
"She and Monica have a strong bond," Hiers said of Tiffany. "They'll be close."
Hiers said the doctors seem to think Monica will make a full recovery.
"The thing about her is she'll never remember this pain," Hier said of Monica's tragic experience. "I will."
