17-year-old Kensley Holmes is fighting for her life after a severe side-by-side accident left her in the ICU with a traumatic brain injury, broken skull, and damage to her brain, heart, liver and lungs. (Photo: Ashley Holmes)
CEDAR CITY, Utah (KUTV) — A 17-year-old-girl is fighting for her life after a severe side-by-side accident left her in the ICU with a traumatic brain injury, broken skull, and damage to her brain, heart, liver and lungs.
Kensley Holmes was camping near Duck Creek with friends when she went for a solo ride in her UTV. When her boyfriend, who was working in the area, didn’t hear from her and noticed her location hadn’t moved for hours, he sensed something was wrong and left work to find her.
When he tracked her location, he found her unconscious and bleeding in her side-by-side. Without cell service, he put her in his car and drove her to fire and rescue workers. She was then transported by ambulance to the hospital in Cedar City, then life-flighted to St. George and finally flown to Primary Children’s in Salt Lake City.
“I’m very grateful her boyfriend Colton followed his gut feeling to look for her,” said Kensley’s mother Ashley. “I don’t know that we would even be in a position right now that we’re still getting to be here with her had she not been found when she was.”
Ashley said they don’t know what caused her daughter to lose control of the UTV, but they know she went off the road and hit a tree at a high speed. She said she was not wearing a seatbelt or a helmet.
Her injuries include two brain bleeds, a broken collarbone, shoulder, neck, and ribs. She also broke her skull in two places and damaged her heart, liver, and lungs.
“Kensley is a fighter. She always has been,” said her mom. “She is a very determined person.”
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Since the accident and her initial admittance into the hospital on Aug 20 she has seen progress in some areas and regression in others.
“It’s a lot of tipping the scale with her health concerns right now,” explained Ashely. “All of her injuries are intertwined, so one thing might help this but would be detrimental to another. All of her injuries are so significant that it’s a very fine line of what to do.”
She is currently breathing on her own with the help of her respirator, and she is no longer considered in liver failure.
Her heart is in heart failure and her brain is severely damaged. Ashely said they don’t know the full extent of that yet.
“How we’re feeling kind of depends on every minute,” Ashely explained. “One minute it can feel positive and we’re feeling good and confident. The next minute is just the most devastating thing. But we’re holding it together.”
Ashely describes Kensley as a “fiery, fun, very silly 17-year-old girl.”
“She loves the outdoors — fishing, camping, anything. But she wants her nails done and her hair done while she does it. She’s kind of the best of both worlds,” Ashely said.
Kensley has three biological siblings and two step siblings.
Her mom said she is “an amazing big sister, daughter and friend.”
The Holmes family lives in Cedar City and will be travelling back and forth to Salt Lake City for Kensley’s care. They also have some family in Northern Utah who are at the hospital supporting.
A GoFundMe has been set up on the family’s behalf to help ease the burden of medical costs and allow her parents to take time away from work to support her.
There has also been a raffle organized to help the family recover financially.
“Kensley is very hard on herself and I think she would just be really taken aback and humbled to see how much she is loved and cared about,” said her mom. “People genuinely love her and want the best for her and really are pulling for her to come out of this and have the best life possible.”