The teen's mom, Kandis George, has no idea why her daughter would try a stunt so dangerous. "She's very bright, and she knows what's safe and what's not safe," she tells Inside Edition Digital.
A 15-year-old remains in the hospital after falling during a car-surfing stunt, leaving her with severe brain trauma.
Ava Broadhead was excited about celebrating homecoming week at her Salt Lake City high school. Last Wednesday, she went shopping with her mom for a new white dress to wear to the Friday dance and came home to eat homemade chicken soup and dumplings before the parade that evening. Ava was going to walk in the parade with the rest of her drill team. At the last minute, it was canceled due to bad air quality from wild fires and wind.
All dressed and ready to go, she asked her mom if she could go out with friends instead.
"I said goodbye to her, gave her a hug, 'Love You,' her mom, Kandis George, recalls telling Ava before she headed out the door.
A few hours later, Kandis's phone was ringing from un unknown number. It was one of Ava's friends telling her that Ava fell off the SUV while car-surfing from the roof at a regional park in Magna and an ambulance was taking her Primary Children's Hospital.
Within two hours, she was in brain surgery.
"[Doctors] were worried that the swelling would start to press onto her spinal cord, which would cause death. So they had to rush her in to relieve pressure. They did a craniotomy where they removed the left side of her skull and completely removed it to alleviate any pressure, cleaned it up. They said there's severe brain trauma to the brain, sewed her back up without the piece of the skull," Kandis says.
She has no idea why her daughter would try a stunt so dangerous. "She's very bright, and she knows what's safe and what's not safe," Kandis says.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help with expenses, while Ava remains in intensive care. "She's very disoriented. She doesn't know what's going on. Her movements are much like an infant who is struggling," Kandis says of her daughter's state.
Kandis has no idea what the long-term affects of this accident will be. "She's witty and smart and talented and we don't know if that will be part of her personality. We don't know if she'll be able to do simple things like hold a spoon, tie a shoe, walk upstairs. We don't know if she'll be able to smile. We don't know if she'll be able to speak."
The only way Kandis is getting through the unknown is by staying strong for her two girls. "She's remarkable, and she's a fighter, and I think she'll be okay. I'm hoping."
She hopes what happened to her daughter serves as a reminder to other kids and parents of the potential dangers.
"We all think our kids are bright enough to not climb on top of a moving vehicle. They put on a seatbelt when we're in the car. But there's a few things: peer pressure can get to them, social media and popularity there can get to them, and adrenaline. These young children, these teenagers, don't have logic," Kandis says.
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