Condition of Clifton mom, child upgraded

BANGOR – The condition of 3-year-old Raven Hatch of Clifton has been upgraded to “fair,” doctors at Eastern Maine Medical Center announced Friday afternoon.

“Raven is much improved,” said Dr. Jonathan Wood, director of the pediatric intensive care unit. “She’s awake and responding.”

Raven, her sister Ashlynn Hatch, and their mother, April Hatch, were critically injured on Tuesday when their vehicle struck a tractor-trailer head-on on Route 1A in Ellsworth. Raven suffered a mild head injury and a number of broken bones, Wood said. The girl has undergone initial surgery to repair the fractures. She faces additional surgery and several more weeks in the hospital, but is off the ventilator and “really angry,” Wood said.

Twenty-five-year-old April Hatch’s condition was upgraded Friday as well, from “critical” to “serious.” The hospital did not have family permission to discuss her injuries and doctors could not release further information due to patient confidentiality regulations. But the “serious” designation means her condition is unstable and she is acutely ill, according to the hospital’s definition.

Two-year-old Ashlynn died of her injuries on Wednesday, Wood confirmed, adding that the toddler’s healthy heart, liver and kidneys have already been transplanted into needy recipients.

“There is nothing right about this situation,” said Wood, who has been caring for the little girls since they were airlifted to the hospital. “But the organ donation is at least something.”