This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan performed Friday on the daughter of BYU running backs coach Reno Mahe revealed significant damage to the 3-year-old child's brain.

Elsie Mahe suffered an in-home accident involving the cord of a window blind on Tuesday that caused severe respiratory distress. She has been clinging to life at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City.

"We received bad news from Elsie's MRI," Reno Mahe said late Friday. "While her base brain is able to perform basic functions (breathing, coughing, reacting to pain), the upper lobes went without oxygen long enough to be devastated. There is nothing more that they can tell us about that. We will continue to hope for a miracle for Elsie."

The toddler's plight has reached all of the state's college football programs. Several University of Utah coaches visited the family at the hospital on Wednesday. Prior to Utah State meeting BYU at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday night, USU coach Matt Wells delivered a message on Twitter.

"Sincere thoughts and prayers go to BYU coach Reno Mahe and family for the full recovery and health of their daughter Elsie," Wells wrote.

Saturday night's game is a "blackout" game for the Cougars, but fans took to social media Saturday morning urging each other to wear pink in some form or another, Elsie's favorite color.

According to posts on Facebook from family friend Valarie Andrus, friends of the family cleaned and performed several fixer-upper projects at the family's home the past few days.

"From the deepest and most tender places of my heart, I thank you," the child's mother, Sunny Mahe, wrote in a statement. "I wish I had better words than that to express my gratitude. I can never repay the gift that you have given me."

While calling for a family fast this weekend, Reno Mahe said the family is "willing to do whatever the Lord wants, but we need clear minds and pure hearts to know what that is — if He would like us to take her home, if He would like her to remain with us but with disabilities, or if His miracle is one of healing for her."

A GoFundMe account has been set up at http://www.gofundme.com/help-the-mahe-family.