Lauren Scruggs, Texas model badly hurt by plane propellor, is talking parents say (VIDEO)

The parents of Lauren Scruggs, the Texas model and fashion blogger who suffered severe head injuries and lost a hand from walking into a plane propeller, have spoken to the US media.  

Scruggs, 23, was disembarking from a plane at a private airport in Dallas over the weekend and may have been attempting to thank the pilot after charting a special Christmas flight, her parents believe, smh.com.au reported.

However the model — who edits Lolo Magazine and also worked in the wardrobe department of the hit TV series "Gossip Girl" — walked into the propeller, slicing her face and shoulder and nearly severing her left hand.

She has undergone reconstructive surgery after her hand was amputated and is now in stable condition in Parkland Hospital, however the extent of her brain injury is still not known, family spokesperson Janee Harrell told ABCNews.com.

Her parents, Jeff and Cheryl Scruggs, reportedly said their daughter was responsive and making a slow recovery.

"She didn't speak right away," Jeff Scruggs said. "I said 'Lauren will you say hi to Daddy,' and she goes, 'Hi.'

"Later she told one of Cheryl's sisters that she loves her. It's so encouraging to us.

"She's really uncomfortable as you can imagine."

Jeff Scruggs told Good Morning America. "I've been told she got out of the plane afterwards. And I'm guessing she went up to thank the pilot.

"She would have been grateful for him taking her up to see the Christmas lights around Dallas.

"They're telling us it's going to be a long recovery.

"Obviously she's had a lot of trauma to her head, and she lost her left hand and her left eye is questionable. "We're praying she'll regain her sight."

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Her mother Cheryl said she was inside the airport when Lauren was hit by the propeller.

"I was there until the care flight got there," she said. "I was just able to hold her and … that's the toughest part of it all, just seeing her waiting there and waiting for the help.

"All I could do was tell her that I love her."

Scruggs told NBC's Today show that Lauren was a fighter.

"She will make it through, and she will use it for good.

"She's going to have a tough time when she finds out … everything that's happened, and losing her left hand is really a tough thing, but she'll fight."

The Scruggs described said that their daughter was not killed by the propeller was a blessing, and did not blame negligence on the part of the pilot.

However, NBC News quoted a former National Transportation Safety Board investigator, as saying the pilot should have done more to avoid the incident.

“The pilot is responsible for the care and oversight of not only the people who are flying as passengers, but anybody that may be a pedestrian around the airplane,’’ Greg Feith reportedly said.