Harlie Rascoe and Christina Harvey are seen in school photos taken in fall 2015, as they appeared in the Saranac Lake Middle School yearbook in spring 2016.

Christina Harvey doesn’t know that her best friend was killed in the snowmobile crash that left her with a broken neck.

The 12-year-old Saranac Lake girl was still in critical condition this morning at the University of Vermont Medical Center’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in Burlington. That’s where Harvey has been since Saturday, when the snowmobile she was riding, and her friend Harlie Rascoe was driving, crashed on Rascoe’s property in Lake Clear.

Rascoe, 12, died at Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake.

Melissa Kline, Harvey’s aunt, said a doctor told family members Tuesday that Harvey basically broke every bone in her neck.

“The family was given two options to proceed with,” Kline said. “One option is to have spinal surgery where they would fuse all the discs together in her neck, but it would make her neck stiff for the rest of her life. She wouldn’t have range of motion.”

The other choice is to put Harvey through several weeks of traction. The medical team hasn’t reached consensus yet on how to proceed, Kline said.

“The prognosis also looks like there’s no permanent brain damage, but we won’t know for sure until they stop the sedation,” Kline said. “She’s being sedated currently because they need to keep her stable because of her neck. She’s been asleep this whole time. She comes in and out. When I was in there, she did squeeze my hand and move her legs, which was such a relief to see.”

“She does kind of open her eyes for about a split second when you walk in or you touch her hand, so she knows we’re there. She’s really unable to respond or do anything else other than that, but we’re hopeful. That’s the spirit we’re feeling right now.”

Harvey is also being treated for pneumonia, which she’s developed since she’s been at the hospital.

Family members have been at Harvey’s bedside nonstop since she was brought to Burlington Saturday night. Harvey hasn’t been told what happened, Kline said.

“She does not know that her friend has passed away,” she said. “We’re really terrified of how to tell her about that. That’s definitely going to come last, when we think she’s ready for that.”

Immediately after the crash, and in the days since, the local community has come together to offer support and raise money for both the Harvey and Rascoe families. A fundraising dinner for the two girls’ families will be held from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21 at the Bloomingdale Volunteer Fire Department.

“It’s going to be a dinner, and we’re working on getting donations for products and services to have for a silent auction,” Kline said.

GoFundMe campaigns were launched for both girls, and both have surpassed their initial goals. A total of $14,065 has been raised for Rascoe’s family so far, well over the campaign’s $12,000 goal.

“So thankful this has reached our goal,” organizer Jean Blanchard, one of Harlie’s aunts, posted on the site earlier this week. “Once the funds do enter my account I will make sure all the arrangements are covered for the Rascoe family and any other things they need. Kim and Dave (Harlie Rascoe’s parents) are very thankful for all the love and support they have received.”

The goal for Harvey’s GoFundMe site was originally $10,000. So far, more than $12,000 has been raised, and a new goal of $20,000 has been set.

“It’s so amazing,” Kline said. “I couldn’t believe how fast it grew. It was humbling to see people donating — people we don’t even know. It’s overwhelming.”

This has been a difficult week for the classmates of both girls at Saranac Lake Middle School, where Harvey and Rascoe are seventh graders. Some kids were upset when they returned to school Monday, but Principal Bruce VanWeelden said through staff, friends, family and the community, they were able to understand their grief.

“Early in the morning, it appeared to me that the students coming in to school weren’t really sure what they were supposed to be doing, feeling or acting,” VanWeelden said. “Many of them obviously were upset and not showing it, and some of them were upset and showing it.”

To start the day, each of the teachers in the students’ homebase periods read a statement regarding the incident, told the students the plans for the day and opened up a dialogue with their classroom, he said. As the day went on, students were able to participate in activities to explore and grasp their feelings.

VanWeelden said some students required counseling services but he did not see an overwhelming need for them throughout the day.

“I think it was a testament to two things,” he said. “I feel as though the parents had prepared their students for what promised to be a difficult day but also students trusted in their teachers and the staff that we were going to hold their hands and walk them through it.”

The school set up two bins, one for Rascoe and one for Harvey, outside the main office, and provided students with butterfly templates to write messages and send condolences. Students also designed and colored cards and could bring mementos from their friendships with the girls to put in the bins.

Van Weelden said students in one class also hung cards around their necks that said they were accepting hugs. Students also made infinity chains with messages written inside for the girls, several made poster-sized cards, and others created wooden plaques for the girls in the technology lab.

The school also sent a teddy bear with cards and notes to Harvey. It was delivered by teaching assistant Shawn O’Brien.

Both girls were in the school’s cooking club, VanWeelden said, so the club has invited all students to come in and make bake goods throughout the week for a bake sale to support the fundraising efforts for the families.

“I would have to say all things considered the students are handling it remarkably well, students and staff alike,” VanWeelden said. “They are doing much, much better than anyone could have expected under these circumstances. I think it has a lot to do with the outpouring of support from community, friends and family.”

He said also credits the community and its various counseling agencies, hospice, and the neighboring school district in Lake Placid for providing support and resources.

“The community outpouring of support has really helped to lift us up, to make us feel as though we’re able to get through this, and I really think we’ve been nestled by that and it’s helped immensely,” he said.

Calling for Rascoe are set to take place from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16 at the Fortune-Keough Funeral Home. A funeral service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17 at St. Bernard’s Church.