
07/22/2025
Seven weeks ago, Leesburg resident Lia Maria Flora Johnson was on the first day of a dream vacation in Argentina when she was struck by a fast-moving vehicle.
The impact of the vehicle caused her to fly 50 feet in the air, according to her father, George Johnson.
She has been hospitalized in Argentina ever since with a traumatic brain injury and she remains in a semi-conscious coma, her father said.
Her parents are currently with her in Buenos Aires.
In a phone interview from the hospital, her father described Lia’s condition as being in a “vegetative state,” meaning that she can open her eyes, and part of her body is responsive, but not conscious. The humerus bone in one arm is broken and has not been properly set, he said, and they believe she is in constant pain.
“She can move a little bit, that is the extent of the connection she is making at this point,” he said. “It’s what we’ve got, so we are holding onto it.”
But the family’s main objective is to return Lia Marie to a hospital in the United States.
Seven weeks ago, Leesburg resident Lia Maria Flora Johnson was on the first day of a dream vacation in Argentina when she was struck by a fast-moving vehicle.