A Kansas family’s dream trip for a wedding turned into a life-or-death nightmare when their 2-year-old daughter was bitten by a rattlesnake just minutes after arriving in Colorado.

Colleen and Brett Robertson had driven nine hours from Overton Park, Kansas, with their daughter Quinn to eastern Colorado for Colleen’s sister’s wedding on Memorial Day weekend. Quinn was excited to serve as a flower girl.

They arrived at their rental property around 3:30 p.m. on Monday, May 25. Colleen, who was eight months pregnant, took Quinn for a short walk—just a couple hundred feet from the house—when the unthinkable happened.

“I heard her cry out in pain,” Colleen told PEOPLE. She looked down and saw the rattlesnake. “I did not hear the rattle until I picked Quinn up, and then I saw it.”

Colleen spotted two bite marks, scooped up her daughter, and rushed back to the house, yelling for Brett to call 911. Within minutes, Quinn became lethargic in her father’s arms. Her breathing turned shallow, she lost consciousness, and began vomiting. Brett and Colleen performed CPR in the driveway while desperately waiting for help in their remote location—about 45 minutes from Colorado Children’s Hospital.

Paramedics arrived roughly 30 minutes later. They waited a bit longer so Quinn could be airlifted by helicopter—the fastest way to get her the critical antivenom she needed.

At the hospital, doctors worked frantically for nearly two hours to stabilize the toddler. She was transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), where she received a staggering 30 vials of antivenom, a blood transfusion, and a breathing tube. Her parents barely slept for the next three days as they prayed by her bedside.

Toxicologists later told the family they had “never seen such a severe case on a child before.”

After two full days unconscious, Quinn finally opened her eyes on Wednesday when doctors removed her breathing tube. “It was the best feeling I’ve ever had,” Colleen said. “Being able to hold her again was truly a miraculous thing.”

Though Quinn missed the original wedding, her aunt and uncle surprised the family with a heartfelt makeshift ceremony at the hospital. Quinn got to be the flower girl after all—Daddy pulled her down the aisle in a little red wagon while she wore her flower crown.

Quinn was discharged nearly a week after the bite. She is now home but still faces a long recovery, including physical therapy, ongoing lab work, a limp, and nightmares from the trauma. The family is leaning on their strong support system and the generosity of strangers.

A GoFundMe set up for Quinn has raised nearly $70,000 to help with medical expenses and recovery.

The Robertsons are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers that helped save their little girl’s life.