Teen hit in crosswalk faces long recovery

Krista McPherson said every hour is now focused on helping her 16-year-old daughter, Faith Flett, endure the pain and begin what is expected to be a lengthy recovery after she was struck by an SUV while crossing a marked crosswalk on Richmond Avenue last week.

Faith remains at the Children’s Hospital at Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, where she continues to receive treatment for multiple serious injuries, including two punctured lungs, about nine broken ribs, a fractured pelvis, a broken hip, lacerations and extensive road rash.

Speaking from the hospital on Friday, McPherson said her daughter had just completed a physiotherapy session that left her in severe pain.

“She had physio about an hour ago. She’s in a lot of pain right now,” McPherson told the Sun. “They’ve got her on morphine and diazepam, so she’s just slowly calming down and slowly bearing the pain at this point.”

Doctors have not provided a timeline for when Faith may be discharged, with pain management remaining the immediate priority.

“We’re looking at quite a stay here,” McPherson said. “It’s going to be until she’s able to manage her pain, which doesn’t look like it’s going to be happening anytime soon.”

While remaining constantly by her daughter’s bedside, McPherson said she has been trying to stay emotionally strong despite the trauma of the past several days.

“I would like to think I’m coping as well as I can,” she said. “I’ve been by her side the whole time. I’m staying strong for my daughter. She really needs me to be strong for her.”

Although she admitted feeling hurt and angry over what happened, she said gratitude outweighs everything else.

“I’m grateful she’s alive. That’s the number one thing. It could have turned out so much worse.”

McPherson, who said Faith is her only child, recalled rushing to Winnipeg immediately after the collision with little more than the work clothes she was wearing at the time.

“I came to Winnipeg with just my work clothes on,” she said. “I was in my steel-toe boots and covered in paint work clothes. I had to go find a thrift store just to get something to wear during the hospital stay.”

She said expenses continue to mount each day, from meals and clothing to lost income and other unexpected costs, making it difficult to estimate the family’s total financial burden.

“It’s continuously adding on,” she said. “Just even being here is adding on because we’ve got to pay for our meals.”

A GoFundMe campaign launched on behalf of the family says Faith had been looking forward to spending the summer working at her new job before the collision occurred.

Organizers say the fundraiser will help cover hotel accommodations, food, lost wages and day-to-day expenses while McPherson remains in Winnipeg with her daughter. The campaign also notes that once Faith returns to Brandon, the family’s current home may not be suitable for her recovery because of accessibility challenges, including stairs.

As of Sunday afternoon, the fundraiser had raised $2,335 through donations toward its $8,000 goal.

Despite the difficult circumstances, McPherson said the outpouring of support from relatives, friends and complete strangers has helped sustain her.

“My family’s been a huge support,” she said. “It’s not just my family; it’s friends, it’s Brandon and the whole community. Strangers have reached out to me. I’m overwhelmed with the amount of support that my daughter and I have been receiving.”

She also said she has been helped by a counsellor and a support worker at Health Sciences Centre.

McPherson said she believes she has managed to remain composed throughout the ordeal, often stepping away briefly to collect herself before returning to her daughter’s bedside.

“I have my moments where I get my sibling or my dad to sit with her so I can come out and release my tears,” she said. “Then I wipe them away, put on a tough face and get back to being beside her.”

For now, however, McPherson said her focus remains on her daughter’s recovery.

Faith, she said, faces a long road ahead, but the family continues to draw strength from the encouragement, generosity and prayers they have received from the community.

“We just ask people to keep praying for my daughter,” McPherson said. “That’s what we need most right now.”

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