Heres some news on the girl who was injured at six flags. She has one prosthetic leg and one foot was reattached.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071205/NEWS01/712051064
Ride victim takes first steps
Pain, depression still haunt Louisville teen
By Charlie White
cwhite@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
With the help of a prosthetic leg, 14-year-old Kaitlyn Lasitter took her first steps last week since her feet were severed last summer on the Superman Tower of Power ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom.
"She's so proud of herself that she has gotten around on crutches," said Larry Franklin, an attorney for the Louisville teenager and her family.
Kaitlyn also has regained her appetite and some weight after the various prescription medications she takes made her sick, her family recently told The Courier-Journal in an e-mail. Because of that, she had to be hospitalized on her birthday, Sept. 6.
Despite the progress she has made, Kaitlyn continues to battle pain, depression and the uncertainty of what will become of her reattached right foot. Her family says doctors have told them they will not know for months if Kaitlyn's body will accept or reject it.
And recently, Kaitlyn has been experiencing phantom pain from her missing left foot.
"To watch our daughter continually try to overcome such extreme pain and adversity has definitely been five of the most trying months of our lives," her parents, Randy and Monique Lasitter, wrote The Courier-Journal. "It tears us up inside to know something like this can happen to our child."
The Lasitters sued Kentucky Kingdom on July 12, claiming the theme park failed to maintain the ride and ensure riders' safety.
Kaitlyn was riding the Superman Tower of Power -- which lifted passengers 177 feet, then dropped them at speeds of more than 50 mph -- on June 21 when a cable broke, severing her feet.
She first was rushed to University Hospital in Louisville, then flown to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Tenn., where she underwent surgery. After Kaitlyn was released from the hospital, she and her family had to make several trips back to Nashville -- about 175 miles away -- for treatment.
She has been receiving treatment recently at Frazier Rehab Institute in downtown Louisville.
Before Kaitlyn received her prosthesis, just getting from one room of the family's Germantown home to another was difficult for her because the door openings of the family's near-century-old home are too narrow for her wheelchair.
Randy Lasitter said he often had to carry her, while at other times, Kaitlyn had to crawl.
Medical bills from Kaitlyn's surgeries and treatments already total in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, her father said. Her prosthetic leg alone cost about $20,000.
The doctors and hospitals have agreed to wait for payment until the family's case against the theme park is resolved, Randy Lasitter said.
After the family moved to Louisville from Florida, Kaitlyn attended sixth grade at Meyzeek Middle School then transferred to Highland Middle School during seventh grade.
She was just beginning to get close to a group of students at Highland when she was hurt, her father said last night.
Kaitlyn regularly had friends over to swim in the family's in-ground pool, but her parents had yet to let her spend the night away from home.
"She hasn't dated, barely even had a first kiss," her father said.
After she was injured, other teenagers Kaitlyn was not as close to began leaving phone messages with insensitive jokes about her condition.
"Due to fears of more ridicule from her peers," her parents said, they decided to keep Kaitlyn at home for her eighth-grade year, teaching her with the help of online courses.
Her parents are now both working online from home so they can be with their daughter.
The state Department of Agriculture, which oversees ride safety, is investigating the incident that maimed Kaitlyn. Another hearing in the case is scheduled for Dec. 14.
The Lasitters say they hope their lawsuit will accomplish three goals:
"First, there is no one that wants this ride (taken) down more than our family so no one will ever have the opportunity to be hurt on this ride again," the family wrote to the newspaper. "What happened to our daughter could have happened to anyone's child that day.
"Secondly, that Kaitlyn receive the best care we can give her and that when she reaches maximum medical improvement, a trust fund can be established to provide for her future surgeries, prosthetics, physical therapy, etc. for her lifetime.
"Last, but not least, it is our opinion that if the reckless conduct of this corporation continues, all of our children will be at risk. It is our duty, as a member of the community, as well as Kaitlyn's parents, to ensure that the appropriate intervention is taken to prevent this from happening."
Kentucky Kingdom officials released a statement last night saying, "Once again, our deepest sympathies and prayers go out to Kaitlyn and the Lasitter family. This was a horrifically tragic and random accident that has left all of us at Kentucky Kingdom deeply saddened."
Attorneys for the theme park had asked Jefferson Circuit Judge Barry Willett for permission to take down the Superman Tower of Power, which is in a prominent place near the park entrance.
Willett ruled last week that Kentucky Kingdom can begin tearing down the ride Feb. 1, a spokeswoman for Kentucky Kingdom said.
While the Lasitters say they are glad the ride is being torn down, they fear the park will "take advantage of Kaitlyn's tragedy by replacing" it and holding a "great unveiling." The family said they don't believe any new ride should take the Superman Tower of Power's place.
In their statement last night, Kentucky Kingdom officials said, "For the record, we never planned to replace the ride and have been waiting to remove it at the first opportunity per the discovery process. We also have no plans to install a new ride in its place next year."
The Lasitters are seeking a jury trial, and waiting for all of the details of the incident to be released.
If you click the link there is a picture of the family. Under "more photos" Kaityn comes home.
Maybe the companies are small and don't offer it. Taking good care of yourself is important but accidents out of our control happen everyday. I hope her pain is better soon. So nice that others are helping out with bills, I'm sure the lawsuit will drag on.
