Seven Springs girl improving after being hit by car

At first, no one thought Jaliyah Garner would survive the July incident. 

“Whenever it happened, I had to hold her all the way to the hospital,” Jaliyah’s mother, Remeshia Brooks, said. “I did not know what to think.”

The child was taken to Wayne Memorial Hospital and then airlifted to Pitt Memorial Hospital.

The next several weeks were tough for Jaliyah and her family, especially for her father, Demarco Garner.

“I was basically beating myself up,” he said.

Doctors treated the toddler for serious injuries, including a skull fracture. As first, doctors thought she might need to undergo brain surgery, but slowly things started to improve.

“Even when it looked the worst, we still kept faith in God,” Jaliyah’s grandmother, Beverly Brooks, said. “We knew God was going to make her a miracle.”

Last week, Jaliyah’s condition improved enough to move her to a Greenville rehabilitation center.

“She's doing good. She's strong,” Garner said.

“Just to have her here alive even recognizing some family members, that's a blessing,” Remeshia Brooks said.

Doctors say the toddler’s prognosis looks good.

“Their goal is, when she leaves out of here, she'll be walking and she'll be talking,” Beverly Brooks said.

Family members hope she will be able to return home in six to eight weeks.