LAPORTE, Ind. — In December a mother received a call that her 5-year-old daughter was being airlifted to Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis.

Jorden Minix was at work when she got the call from Child Protective Services, who said her daughter Emersyn Smith had suffered major head trauma and they weren’t sure if she was going to live.

Minix told the Times of Northwest Indiana that she drove three hours to Indianapolis and learned that her daughter needed emergency brain surgery.

Smith’s stepmother was accused of causing the injuries. Smith had been at her father’s and stepmother’s LaPorte County home.

Rebecca Renee Smith said the girl fell in the bathroom and hit her head, but doctors said her injuries were from physical abuse. She was hospitalized for four days and had to get staples across her head after surgery, Minix said.

Minix said the doctor told her that her daughter’s brain was as if someone had shaken a bowl of Jello. Her other daughter, 3-year-old Ava Smith, witnessed her sister being injured.

Emersyn’s vision was affected, and she cannot play sports or go on a trampoline.

Rebecca Smith was charged with aggravated battery, and battery with serious bodily injury to a person under 14-years-old, said court reports

A warrant was issued on May 31 and Rebecca Smith was arrested on June 4.

Her case hearing is scheduled for July 31.