A South Carolina family’s pleasant hike turned into a nightmare when a tree suddenly fell on a man and a little girl, leaving both of them in need of serious surgery. 

Kameron Masters was with her boyfriend, Derick Caperton, her ten-year-old daughter, Leila, her other two children and friends while hiking a trail in Cedar Falls Park outside of Greenville on Monday.

After reaching the end of the trail, the group was standing around talking and making plans to go to Masters’ pool. Suddenly, ‘we heard a little crack and a split second later a tree fell onto our group,’ the mother recounted in a Facebook post.

‘Leila and Derick were directly hit.’

The little girl suffered ‘broken bones in her legs and ribs and scapula, but her back is broken in 12 places with some of it being severe,’ according to her mom.

Masters shared her post from the hospital on Tuesday while her daughter was in the ICU awaiting surgery. It was the little girl’s tenth birthday. The hike took place the day before.

Caperton suffered ‘a broken forearm, clavicle, leg, and ribs.’ According to Masters, her beau was in ‘a lot of pain’ and was waiting for his surgery to be scheduled. 

A GoFundMe organized on behalf of the family to help pay for medical bills, missed work and food during their hospital stay and recovery said that both Caperton and Leila ‘will be in the hospital for weeks and recovery is a long and uncertain road.’

Leila Masters, 10, was hiking in South Carolina on Monday when a tree suddenly fell on her and an adult man. She was left in need of spinal surgery and is pictured in a hospital bed

Leila was hiking with her siblings, her mother, Kameron Masters, and her mother’s boyfriend, Derick Caperton, who was also hit by the tree and seriously injured. The couple is pictured

Kameron is pictured with her three children. She said that Leila’s siblings and the other adults and children who saw the tree fall ‘are rightly traumatized’

The fundraising page has been frequently updated since it was set up on Tuesday. According to the updates, Leila underwent surgery for her spine that day and had her leg set.

‘She has a rod and screws from T3 to T11. There are some questions about what recovery will look like in regards to movement,’ the GoFundMe organizer, Kortnee Belue, wrote. 

‘We’re thankful there was no emergencies on the table. Her leg is reset and she’ll [sic] will be in a full body cast for a minute.’ 

In an update Tuesday night, Belue wrote: ‘Staff said [Leila’s] doing incredible.’ 

According to another update on Wednesday, Caperton still has not received surgery and suffered ‘his worst day of pain.’

‘Adrenaline is gone and he’s been sitting with multiple fractures and shattered bones,’ Belue said. ‘We are praying that there is an opening in surgery so he can begin properly healing.’ 

Kameron said that the other adults and children who witnessed the tree fall on Caperton and Leila ‘are rightly traumatized.’

She emphasized that ‘nobody was climbing on the tree or doing anything they weren’t supposed to be doing, we were just simply standing and talking and smiling one moment, and a tree had fallen on us in the next.’

Leila underwent her spinal surgery and had her leg set on Tuesday. Her freshly done braids are pictured on Tuesday night while she was recovering from the surgery

Kameron said that she and her family were looking forward to a vacation to the Bahamas in three weeks, which had to be cancelled. She is pictured with her three children at a river

The mother recounted being terrified her daughter had died because of ‘her bleeding, injuries, and being pinned under that tree.’

Masters added that she and her family were excited to go on a vacation to the Bahamas in three weeks, but the trip had to be canceled. 

She also lamented that ‘instead of her birthday celebration, we’re here fighting for her.’ 

‘Please please please keep us in your thoughts and prayers,’ Masters added.