Teen recovering after suffering traumatic brain injury at track practice

    BOONE COUNTY, Kentucky (WLWT) -- A Boone County track runner is in the hospital after a freak accident. Her mom says her daughter suffered a traumatic brain injury at a high school practice.

Sixteen-year-old Hailey Jackson is always on the move. Whether she's on the soccer field or competing with Boone County's track team, her mom says Hailey is a go-getter.

"She's very loving and caring," Hailey's mom, Nichole Jackson, said. "Everybody has said she is such a sweet person. How could this have happened."

On Wednesday, when Hailey was at track practice at Boone County High School, Nichole says she received a phone call that her daughter was hit in the head by a discus thrown her way by accident.

"They told me she had been injured, she had been hit in the head and was bleeding," Nichole said. "I shot straight to the school to get there."

Initially, Nichole thought her daughter just needed stitches, but doctors at a Florence emergency room informed Hailey she needed to get to Cincinnati Children's quickly.

Hailey was rushed in for brain surgery. She underwent a craniotomy for a fractured skull and severe bleeding.

"The fact that it shattered the hardest part, he said if it had gone into one of the softer areas, you can figure out what the case could have been," Nichole said.

Nichole says Hailey's chances of playing soccer in her senior year is up in the air, but her mom is grateful her youngest daughter is expected to make a full recovery.

A fundraiser has been set up to help alleviate some of the medical bills.