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Fan Hit By Bat At Fenway Has 'Many Things For Which She Is Grateful' One Year Later

BOSTON (CBS) -- The woman struck by a flying bat at Fenway Park last summer wants people to know she has "many things for which she is grateful" on the first anniversary of the incident.

Tonya Carpenter suffered life-threatening injuries after she was hit by a broken bat during the game between the Red Sox and Oakland A's. In a statement issued through her attorney Tuesday, she asserted her dedication to increasing ballpark safety efforts.

Tonya Carpenter
Tonya Carpenter is attended to by medical staff after she was hit by a broken bat during a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics in the second inning at Fenway Park on June 5, 2016. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

"Tonya feels it is her mission to communicate that it is essential that the league and the teams throughout the nation do what needs to be done to make sure children can be reasonably safe while they enjoy America's pastime," the release said.

The statement details the lingering difficulties Carpenter faces, including the memory of worrying about her son's safety in the moments after she was hit. She had just leaned down to help her son with his hot dog when a piece of A's third baseman Brett Lawrie's shattered bat hit her.

"The most painful part of this horrifying incident was that in that moment of disorienting impact she was consumed by terror, as she did not know what happened to her son, did not know whether this thing that hit and so badly damaged her, hit him as well," the statement read. "She has a recurring nightmare of her hand being separated from his as it was that day and a recurring relief when she awakens as she did days after her injury and is reassured that he is fine."

Her injury was cited in a lawsuit last year that pushed for more safety netting in ballparks.

The Red Sox expanded the safety nets at Fenway Park this season.

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