A little girl's fight for life has ended in a Maine hospital four days after a horrific accident while playing badminton with her 10-year-old brother during an idyllic lakeside family vacation.
Lucy Morgan, six, was hit in the head by part of her brother's racket when it disintegrated as he played a shot on the last full day of their vacation in Limerick.
The girl was airlifted to the Maine Medical Center in Portland where her family was told she had suffered a catastrophic brain injury in the freak accident on June 1.
With no hope of recovery, her three young siblings joined their parents at her bed to sing her favorite hymn for the last time before their little 'Miss Independent' died in the early hours of Wednesday.
'This is such a sad, tragic situation,' Maine State Police said. 'Our hearts break for the family.'
Six-year-old Lucy Morgan died after after a freak accident in which she was struck in the head by her young brother's badminton racket when it disintegrated during a game
The young family were preparing to return to their home in Stockholm, New Jersey , after enjoying a week of kayaking and outdoor activities
The young family were preparing to return to their home in Stockholm, New Jersey, after enjoying a week of kayaking and outdoor activities.
They had just finished lunch by the lake when the four children aged from four to 10 went to the front yard to play badminton, dad Jesse Morgan, who is a pastor, said.
'Bethany and I were relaxing in the back when we heard screaming,' he added.
'Due to a freak accident with a racquet that broke on a downward swing, a sharp piece had entered Lucy's skull while she was sitting on the sideline and caused catastrophic injury.'
The aluminum shaft had broken away from the wooden handle and hit Lucy in the head leaving her unconscious and unresponsive.
She was taken by EMS to a local hospital and then on by helicopter to Portland where surgeons removed part of her skull to relieve pressure on her brain.
She was resuscitated after suffering a cardiac arrest on the operating table but doctors informed the family that she had a negligible chance of recovery.
Morgan, a pastor with the Green Pond Bible Chapel in Rockaway Township, began documenting his daughter's struggle for life over the next four days on his church blog.
The young family were enjoying an idyllic lakeside vacation in Maine when the tragedy occurred
Lucy was airlifted by helicopter to Portland where she suffered a cardiac arrest as surgeons removed part of her skull to relieve pressure on her brain
And the following day the devastated parents had to tell Lucy's siblings that their sister was unlikely to recover.
'Walking into the hospital room that the staff generously gave us were three little humans sleeping soundly,' their father wrote.
'It hit us so hard at that moment that there were only three not four. We broke the news as gently as we could, but that is a conversation you never want to have with a 4- year-old, 8-year-old, and 10-year-old.
'Shiloh broke down immediately. She and Lucy are best friends being the middle girls.
'She couldn't imagine sleeping alone in her room. AJ was slow to comprehend and just wanted to be held, then got into his typical 4-year-old machine gun questioning style.
'Silas tried to hold it in as the tough guy, but then burst out crying 'I don't want to be a family of five'.'
The family began to receive hundreds of messages from well-wishers as news of Lucy's condition spread 'Thank you all for helping us hope,' Jesse wrote.
'Ninety percent of the messages I get I have no idea who they are from. You are amazing people used by God to bring comfort.'
But by the Monday it was becoming clear that the end was near, writing that there was a 'significant lack of brain function' that left them facing a reality that was 'utterly devastating'.
'If there is any good news in this, it's that she hasn't felt any pain over the past few days', the pastor added.
The four children had enjoyed a week of kayaking and outdoor activities before the accident
Father Jesse Morgan said the family 'can't imagine life without Lucy-goose'
The day passed in a 'blur' as a series of neurologists confirmed the prognosis and the family prepared to say their last goodbye.
As part of their final goodbye, Jesse said that the family sang three verses of 'He Will Hold Me Fast' in what he described as 'one of the most beautiful, sacred things I've ever been a part of'.
Brain death was declared 1.32am on June 5, and her heart stopped beating around 4am that morning.
'I just taught on processing grief in the last Adult Bible Class I taught before sabbatical,' Jesse wrote.
'Am I willing to submit to my own advice? Right now holding her hand I'm not sure, but I want to.
'We are hanging on but can't imagine life without Lucy-goose.'
A GoFundMe.com fund to support the family has raised more than $93,000 from more than 850 donors.
Lucy's funeral will take place at 11am ET on Saturday and will be live-streamed at www.greenpondbible.org.
