BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- The woman who was hit by a broken bat at a Red Sox game Friday night remains hospitalized, but her condition has improved to fair, her family said Monday.
Tonya Carpenter of Paxton, Mass. was carried off on a stretcher after the top of the second inning Friday night. She was hit when Oakland A's Brett Lawrie broke his bat on a groundout to second base for the second out of the inning.
"He swung, hit the ball and the bat broke. And she got hit in the head, and she's bleeding. Looked pretty miserable," fan Wesley Locke said.
She was brought to the hospital with life-threatening injuries Friday night and remained in serious condition over the weekend. Her condition improved to fair on Monday.
"Tonya is responsive, and her condition has been upgraded from serious to fair," the family said in a statement. "We would like to thank everyone for their continued support, especially the fans at Fenway Park, first responders, Boston EMS, Boston Police and her care team at Beth Israel Deaconess."
Lawrie sent Carpenter flowers and a card in the hospital, according to a San Francisco Chronicle writer who covers the A's.
Major League Baseball is reviewing fan safety practices, the league's commissioner said Monday night.
Carpenter's former brother-in-law Mark says the family hasn't brought her 8 year-old son Aiden to her bedside yet because he was there when Tonya was nearly fatally hurt.
But what is keeping the family going is knowing Tonya has a fighting spirit. Mark Carpenter told FOX25 she is showing major signs of improvement like spelling words and squeeze doctor's hands on command, but she still has a long road ahead of her to recovery.
A fundraising website has been set up to cover the cost of medical bills and potential surgeries down the road. Click here to view the page.
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