JACKSONVILLE, Fla.-- A young girl is receiving specialized care she can only get in Jacksonville after she fell into a canal in upstate New York.
It may look like home with the Christmas stockings and the tree and the children playing. It's anything but that for the Clanton family. It's a hotel room, but one they'll call home while their little girl Selah is going through rehab at Brooks.
"Oh, it's been horrible," said Selah's mother Yvonne.
Last August, the family was in Rochester, N. Y., getting specialized treatment for one of their other children. Selah and her brother Sam were in a stroller when their father lost control. It plunged into the Erie Canal.
"It was probably one of the worst days of my life," said Yvonne.
Her brother is just fine, but doctor's didn't give Selah much of a chance. "Selah somehow twisted herself in the straps of the stroller," said Yvonne.
Four months later, she was ready to leave New York and come home to Florida, but finding a rehab center wasn't easy. "There was no hospital that would take Selah," said her father Jon.
Selah needs specialized treatment. It's treatment this family from Zephyrhills couldn't get near their hometown until someone told them about Brooks in Jacksonville. "There is a rehab place in Jacksonville that deals with pediatric brain trauma injuries," said Jon.
Selah seems to be doing well. She's on a new medication and her parents are hopeful, they'll have something to celebrate this Christmas. "It's probably the best bet all around," said Yvonne. "We're hoping over time, she'll come back to us" said Jon. "We're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It's a long road we have, but we're not doing it alone."
The family really didn't know anyone in Jacksonville, but people at the Mandarin United Methodist Church heard about their story and are helping them pay for the hotel room and get meals every day. The family is planning another trip back up to Rochester in August, for their other child to get treatment.
Selah's mother keeps a blog of the recovery at
