Just days after accidentally walking into a small-engine plane propeller, the family of fashion blogger and model Lauren Scruggs say she is making a remarkable recovery.
"She's got her spunk back, her personality," said Scrugg's father, Jeff Scruggs.
Family members said Scruggs, 23, was going to say goodbye to the pilot when she accidentally walked into a moving propeller. Scruggs lost her left hand in the accident, sustained a brain injury and is at risk of losing her left eye.
"She's able to raise both eyebrows," Jeff Scruggs said. "That doesn't sound like a big deal -- but they were worried about the nerve on one side -- but she's able to do that."
On Wednesday, she took her first steps since the accident, said her mother, Cheryl Scruggs.
"They came in yesterday and brought her out into the hallway, and she walked," she said.
"We didn't know she was counting, but they got about 30 steps out, and they turned her around and she said, '30.' And we're thinking, 'What does that mean?' And she said, 'I walked 30 steps.'"
In a news conference Thursday, Scruggs' parents said their daughter doesn't remember the accident.
"She understands it was a bad accident, but she doesn't really know," Cheryl Scruggs said. "She can't remember any detail."
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Both parents said their daughter is now aware of the extent of her injuries and is learning to move forward without her left hand.
On Thursday, she saw her reflection in the mirror for the first time.
"She looked and said, 'That's not bad,' so that was encouraging," Cheryl Scruggs said.
Scruggs' parents said there isn't a timetable for their daughter's recovery. But given what happened, they're not asking for one -- they're simply grateful their daughter is alive.
"She shouldn't be alive today," Cheryl Scruggs said. "God saved her from it, and that's just a really big deal. She shouldn't really be alive. So we feel blessed in that. ... We're lucky to have her. I mean, we really are."
