The little girl whose legs were severed by a lawn mower suffered a setback yesterday as she recovers from her injuries.
Doctors discovered that a skin graft on Ireland Nugent's right leg was not successful, causing her to develop an infection which needed surgery on Tuesday.
Family spokesman Dennis Reid — pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Clearwater — told the Tampa Bay Times the 2-year-old faces two more surgeries to further cleanse the leg and do a second skin graft.
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Ireland Nugent, the little girl whose legs were severed by a lawn mower has suffered a setback as she recovers from her injuries
The little girl was injured April 11th when she ran after her father, Jerry Nugent, as he rode a lawn mower up the driveway at their Palm Harbor home. Her mother, Nicole Nugent, frantically motioned for him to stop, but he misunderstood, put the lawn mower in reverse and backed over the child.
Her legs were severed below the knees and she had cuts to her hand. She also broke her thumb.
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The child was flown to Tampa General Hospital, where she endured four surgeries. She has been recovering and even left the intensive care unit over the weekend, Reid said.
Then doctors discovered the infection and a fifth surgery was performed.
The little girl was injured April 11 when she ran after her father, Jerry Nugent, as he rode a lawn mower up the driveway at their Palm Harbor home. Her mother, Nicole Nugent (pictured left), frantically motioned for him to stop
Ireland's legs were severed below the knees and she had cuts to her hand. She also broke her thumb
Before the surgery, Ireland had been interacting with her family and had been removed from a breathing device.
After the infection was discovered, she was returned to the breathing apparatus and went back to the intensive care unit.
According to the Times, doctors found the infection while 'shrink-wrapping' the remains of the child's legs and tightening the tips of the stumps to prepare her for prosthetic limbs.
In photos Reid shared with the newspaper on Tuesday, the child is seen with her mother in a hospital playroom, her legs and hand bandaged, and spending time with her father.
Victim: Ireland Nugent, 2, lost both of her feet and part of an arm in the Wednesday accident
Reid called the infection a 'minor setback,' but it deflated the family's hope of bringing Ireland home this week. The additional surgeries could also postpone fitting the child for prosthetic limbs.
'They're disappointed,' Reid told the parents. 'They were really hoping to get her to come home, but they also realize that with something like this, it's three steps forward, one step back, and then forward again.'
In the days immediately after her terrible accident, Ireland's parents were adamant that she would make as full as a recovery as possible.
'She will continue to succeed. She will do great things in her life,' her mother Nicole told reporters at a press conference.
'This will not stop Ireland.'
United front: After initially being treated for hysteria following the accident, Nicole and Jeremiah Nugent stood by each other during a press conference on Thursday
Police said the father, identified by police as 47-year-old Jeremiah Nugent, was going to park the mower into the garage at the family's Palm Harbor, Florida home earlier this month.
Accident: Jeremiah Nugent, 47, was pulling into his garage to park the ride-on lawnmower when he reversed after seeing his wife wave to tell him he was going to run over something
He is said to have not noticed that his daughter had tripped behind the machine, and he only realized that something may be wrong when he saw his wife was alerting him that he was about to drive over something.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office says the man responded by putting the mower in reverse, running over his daughter.
According to police, the father dragged the little girl down the driveway of their subdivision and onto the street before he realized what had happened.
Once he did, Mr Nugent immediately turned off the mower, and the woman called 911.
Authorities say the child's feet were severed above the ankles. Her left hand was injured but intact.
She was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital with her distraught parents where she is undergoing treatment.
'She suffered from immediate amputations to both legs below the knees and partial amputation on her hand,' Palm Harbor Fire Rescue said in a media release.
The parents of 2-year-old girl in tragic lawnmower accident speak...
Too late: Police said her father swaddled her with a blanket and immediately called 911
Horrific: A two-year-old girl lost both of her legs and part of her hand last night after her father accidentally ran over her in a ride-on lawnmower, pictured, and then dragged her the length of their drive way
Support: The family's pastor stood with them as they spoke to reporters outside of the Tampa hospital, telling how their neighbors have created a fund to pay for Ireland's prosthetic limbs
Police told ABC News that it will not be possible for the girl's limbs to be reattached, but her mother told a group of reporters on Thursday that their neighbors have banded together and begun raising funds so that the Nugents will be able to pay for prosthetic limbs for Ireland.
'Never in my life did I think this would happen to my child,' Mrs Nugent said according to NBC News.
She was taken to Tampa General Hospital, and her condition was unavailable Thursday.The girl's parents were treated at the hospital for hysteria immediately after the incident, but showed a positive, united front alongside their family pastor during the press conference on Thursday.