Iowa baby hit by softball has fractured skull, brain bleeds


Save Story

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) — A 7-week-old baby is being treated for skull fractures and brain bleeds after she was hit in the head by a softball while watching her father play in northeastern Iowa.

Authorities say the overthrown softball struck McKenna Hovenga and her mom, Kassy, as they watched the game Wednesday in Shell Rock, some 95 miles (150 kilometers) northeast of Des Moines. McKenna's father, Lee Hovenga, was in the game.

McKenna was taken to a local hospital then flown to St. Mary's Hospital at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

A post on the Healing for McKenna Facebook page said that after 48 hours without a seizure, doctors have started to wean McKenna off her seizure medication. A neurologist told the family that McKenna's brain activity is calming down.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent U.S. stories

Related topics

The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
    Newsletter Signup

    KSL Weather Forecast

    KSL Weather Forecast
    Play button