Miracles DO Happen - The Story of Our Miracle Baby, Penelope Lagergren

 On February 15, 2020, our lives were forever changed when our sweet 16 month-old daughter, Penny, ventured her way out our back screen door into the backyard, where she tumbled into the lake behind our home drowned. When we found her, she was face down in the water, unresponsive and later discovered to be in full cardiac arrest. Little Penny was gone for over an hour before doctors would call my wife into her room at the ER to say goodbye. My wife took her by the hand, and told her she wasn't ready for her to go yet. Within a few moments, Penny's heart started beating, and that's when doctors quickly got back to work. She then spent 2 months in the hospital during the height of COVID-19 on a ventilator until she was discharged on April 15th. We were blessed to have her return home with us, but not the same as she was. Penny has severe brain damage as a result of the accident, and it has made things very challenging for the whole family. It was hard going from the happy, smiley little girl that she once was to her being unable to play and enjoy life in the same ways her siblings do. She currently has 24/7 home nursing care and has been undergoing aggressive treatment to help combat her anoxic brain injury 7 days a week. Due to the nature of her injury, insurance does not cover any of her therapy, so my wife and myself established a platform by the name of "Penny's Crazy Train to Recovery" (Named after Ozzy's famous tune and subsequently her favorite song before her accident) on social media to help keep those who love and support her in the loop about what therapies she is currently undergoing and the status of her recovery. www.facebook.com/pennyscrazytrain

By the grace of God, Penelope has made a lot of progress as a result of our efforts in so many different types of therapy for her, but we cannot do it without the support of so many. We have so many future plans for the treatment of little Penny. In the future, we would like to establish a foundation in Penelope's name, to help other families that have fallen victim to this type of injury. Non-fatal drowning is a lot more common than most folks realize, and it is a challenging circumstance for so many families.

When my daughter was injured, I thought to myself over and over about how alone she must have felt at the time of her drowning, but the more I contemplated, the more I realized someone was looking out for her that day, taking solace in knowing she has a divine purpose or she would not still be alive. So many believe in her, especially us, and we will continue to fight for her no matter how long it takes!