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Spanish Fork father reminds parents to safeguard windows after daughter falls out of window

Posted at 5:58 PM, May 22, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-22 19:58:07-04

SPANISH FORK, Utah – A Spanish Fork father is speaking out after his 3-year-old daughter suffered critical injuries from falling out a bedroom window Sunday.

“It's heartbreaking. Every time I go in there and look at her, I just wish that I could take her place,” said Andrew Bushnell.

Kalyssa, Bushnell's daughter, is at Primary Children’s Hospital recovering from a 13-foot fall from her bedroom window.

“It's one of those things you don't always think of until it happens,” said Bushnell.

The 3-year-old was playing with her brother when she leaned on the screen of the open window and it popped out. Her mother was in the next room, but couldn’t get to her in time.

“I was at work at the time and I received the phone call,” said Bushnell. “It was like my worse fear came to life. All I could think was, 'is my daughter alive, is she gonna make it?'"

Kalyssa suffered a fracture to her skull and spine. She’ll have to undergo several surgeries to repair the damage.

“She's been active, showing a lot of her personality,” said Bushnell.

Considered the princess of the household, Kalyssa's family hopes she’ll come home soon.

“She's always upbeat. Always complimenting everybody. It's looking like it's gonna be a long recovery process, but I hope she can get back to her original self,” said Bushnell.

Until then, Bushnell is reminding parents that safeguarding windows can save a life.

“It's hard as a parent not to blame yourself for this kind of thing that happens. We just feel like we should have thought of it and have locks on those windows that they couldn't get to," he said.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family pay for medical expenses:

https://www.gofundme.com/kalyssabmedicalfund