Brittney Bergeron has come a long way since the 2003 stabbing attack that left her paralyzed, but uncertainty over who will raise her continues to trouble the now-14-year-old, her foster mother said in court Monday.

"She is so terrified about what is going to happen in her life," said Judy Himel, who has cared for Brittney for the past three years.

Himel's testimony came at the start of a hearing in Clark County Family Court that could determine whether Brittney's birth mother, Tamara Schmidt, will be stripped of her parental rights.

Such a ruling would clear Himel to adopt the girl.

The hearing before Judge Gerald Hardcastle is set to resume Friday.

The girl was paralyzed from the waist down in the attack, which killed her 3-year-old sister, Kristyanna Cowan.

Two Utah siblings, Beau and Monique Maestas, were charged with stabbing the children in revenge for a bogus drug deal that authorities said involved Brittney's mother.

Schmidt, who has denied involvement in any drug deal, pleaded guilty to child neglect and was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison in October.

Her husband, Robert Schmidt, received a two- to 10-year sentence for leaving the children alone at home at the time of the stabbing.

Schmidt was slated to testify Monday, but a paperwork problem kept her from being brought to court from the Southern Nevada Women's Correctional Center in North Las Vegas.

Prosecutors tried to sever Tamara Schmidt's parental rights, but Hardcastle ruled that authorities had to do everything they could under the law to seek a reunification.

No such effort has been made, said attorney Stephen Caruso, who represents Schmidt.

"The whole idea that reunification could work when Brittney has got a whole team of people around her who don't want her to be back with her mother, it's a joke," Caruso said.

Caruso sharply questioned Himel during the hearing, prompting Hardcastle to warn the attorney to watch his tone.

Himel denied doing anything to limit the girl's contact with Schmidt or keep the two from mending their relationship.

"We encourage her to write to her mother, but we can't make her do things that she doesn't want to do," she said.

Caruso said Schmidt was to receive regular updates on the girl's medical condition and her progress in the classroom, but a single school report card is the only update his client has received.

Since she was sent to prison, Schmidt has not seen her daughter. The two have spoken on the telephone about three times in the past seven months, Caruso said.

Instead of living up to Hardcastle's directive, he said, prosecutors have renewed their effort to terminate Schmidt's parental rights.

Brittney's attorney, Steve Hiltz of Clark County Legal Services, said the reason is simple: Prosecutors still see Schmidt as an unfit parent.

"And it's somewhat moot since she's not going to be physically reunited" with her daughter before the girl reaches adulthood, Hiltz said.

Himel declined comment after Monday's hearing, but during testimony, she detailed the progress the girl has made.

Himel said the girl was placed in the Himels' home in April 2003 after she was released from a rehabilitation facility where she learned how to manage "her daily living as it was going to be from then on."

Himel said Brittney has become an avid athlete and student: She won a gold and five bronze medals at a recent wheelchair track meet, and she finished the eighth grade on time and with honors after being more than a year behind.

She starts high school in the fall, Himel said.

The girl did not attend Monday's hearing and is not expected to testify.