CAROLINA BEACH, North Carolina (WWAY) - Seven-year-old Mya Bartlett doesn't like to talk about the accident that fractured her skull and left her with traumatic brain damage.
It happened on April 8, 2010. She was kicking a soccer ball, fell backward and hit her head. The Hello Kitty ponytail holder she was wearing damaged her fragile skull.
"As the doctors said, it was as if she had a rock and a knife in her head when she fell," said Mya's mother, Tristen Waters."The rock was the plastic, and the corners and edges acted as a knife."
Mya now struggles with ADD, ADHD and memory loss, among other problems, as a result of the injury.
Mya's mom said she initially thought it was a freak accident, but after doing some research she learned that injuries from hair accessories are fairly common, especially for girls who are very active.
"Girls under the age of 14, their head is still growing and developing," says Kyra Bartlett.
Kyra is Mya's sister and business partner. The duo has turned an injury into an investment. An investment in the lives of little girls around the world.
They are making and selling safe hair accessories.
"They got no plastic and no metal," explains Kyra.
The sisters design and sew the bows themselves, with a little help from mom. Waters is proud that her girls are helping to prevent similiar injuries, one hair bow at a time.
"The product that they are making is going to save lives," says Waters. "And because the product their making is saving lives, they are saving the world."
The girls used the money they made from the bows and bands to pay for summer camp. Now they are deciding what charity to help out with the rest of the money they made.