As Ava Martinez is wheeled closer, the suspension on the Honda minivan slackens. The vehicle drops and a ramp pops out.

Like so many things in the 5-year-old’s life, the van is specialized to her needs. She’ll need total care for her remaining shortened life span.

Two weeks after a Buchanan County jury found her mother’s former fiance Joshua Blinde innocent in causing her injuries, life goes on for the severely brain-damaged girl and her caretakers, who are still bitter over the verdict.

The Buchanan County jury — made up of nine women and three men — had the option of convicting Mr. Blinde of first- or second-degree assault but chose neither.

During the two-week trial, Mr. Blinde testified the fall was accidental — that Ava fell off a 30-inch bathroom vanity when he went into her room to get a diaper.

On this Thursday afternoon, Ava has had a good day at school. However, her mother, Heather Martinez, only knows this through her kindergarten teachers. Her daughter’s once-bustling vocabulary is gone — replaced by grunts, long aaaahhhs and the rare “mamma.”

Stroking her daughter’s long brown hair, Ms. Martinez evokes a smile out of her Ava. Nothing about her is symmetrical.

When she smiles, her left cheek curls up, but her right cheek is stagnant.

Her injury and subsequent surgery in February 2006 were to the left side of her brain — which has muted the whole right side of her body.

Her grandfather, Richard Whitford, loosens her arm restraint as Ms. Martinez goes for a quiet word with one of Ava’s teachers.

Her left wrist is tied to her wheelchair. Ava tends to scratch her nose, pull her hair or tug on her tummy tube when it is free.

“Are you going to Grandpa’s in Kearney today?” Mr. Whitford asks Ava. “Point to ‘yes’ or ‘no.’”

Ava’s teachers have put the words on her wheelchair tray.

Earlier in the week, when a teacher asked her if she has a cat, she pointed to “no.”

When the teacher asked is she has a dog, she pointed to “yes.” (She received Rey, a Yorkie, last year on her fourth birthday.)

“I mean, she understands everything. The problem is outgoing communication,” Ms. Martinez said, driving home at the wheel of her $72,000 Honda handicap-accessible minivan that was modified through a grant. “Like, lately she’s been getting upset with me.”

For the past couple weeks, Ms. Martinez, 28, has been busy with doctor appointments and homework — catch-up after attending the two-week trial. She’s studying as a physical therapy assistant — a new career she hopes will make her a better caretaker.

Doctors don’t typically give prognosis on brain injuries, but any improvements they’ve alluded to are minimal, Ms. Martinez said.

Her own hopes for her once-bright daughter are limited: Maybe Ava will talk one day, be able to take liquid through her mouth, regain some brain function. Doctors tell Ms. Martinez between 60 to 70 percent of Ava’s brain is “essentially dead.”

At home, Ms. Martinez leaves Ava in the living room as she preps for her routine — a thrice daily medicine and treatment ritual.

Ava spaces out. Mr. Whitford fears a seizure. Ms. Martinez touches her eyes and brings her back to reality. “It’s inattention.”

For 20 minutes, Ava is attached to a shaking machine. She enjoys “her ride” as movement loosens chest secretions in her immobile body.

So far, she’s had six surgeries. Rods run alongside her backbone to straighten her posture. A pump about the size of a tuna can delivers medicine into her spinal column. She takes liquid food and medicine through a feeding tube to her tummy. A shunt drains excess brain fluid.

The injuries have also played with her body. Her reproductive organs showed signs of maturing at age 4. She’s on monthly shots to delay it until her teens. More surgeries are planned — the first next summer.

“She’s always going to need care, total care. She’ll never be able to bathe herself. No privacy. She’ll be in diapers forever,” Ms. Martinez said, who finds it hard to be around children who are Ava’s age. “She’s missing out on a lot.”

Mr. Blinde, through his attorney, declined to comment for this story.

Ahmad Safi can be reached at ahmadsafi@npgco.com.