Crocodile boy attack: Child, 3, injured at zoo ‘smiling again’ after seven surgeries
The family of a three-year-old boy seriously injured in the zoo’s crocodile enclosure say they are “surprised at how far they have come” and that the boy is now playing with his feet after multiple surgeries.
The Johnsons, of Old Hurst, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, previously said they were “alerted after a child was allegedly thrown into one of our crocodile enclosures” on June 18.
A 30-year-old man from Norfolk was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following the incident and was later released on bail after police said he was “assessed unfit to appear”.
It was reported that the suspect in the case had a learning disability and went on a trip with caregivers, and the investigation into his care continues.
In an update shared on the fundraising page, the boy’s family thanked people for their support and said the boy was now “talking to nurses, playing with his feet and smiling again.”
A statement on the page written by the boy’s grandmother said his parents remained with him in hospital in Cambridge.
In the update on the GoFundMe page established to financially support the family and help the child’s recovery and rehabilitation, they said, “Today, our son had his seventh surgery.”
“In that surgery, surgeons removed a nerve graft from his left arm.
“They removed a nerve from his leg to replace part of the nerve that was missing in his left arm.
“We hope that over time this nerve will settle and help our son regain some function in his left hand.
“We won’t know if the nerve graft was successful until tests are done in a few months.”
The latest update gave more details about the child’s care, including that he underwent a 12-hour surgery after being hospitalized on the day of the incident.
“Shortly after we arrived (he was hospitalized on June 18), our son underwent a 12-hour surgery where surgeons did miraculous things,” the post said.
“They suffered tendon damage, nerve damage, blood vessel damage, broken bones and severe tissue damage to both their arms, neck, head and face.
“These were the worst 12 hours of our lives because we were already signing consent forms that included resuscitation and amputation.
“We weren’t sure our son would make it and it was the worst feeling in the world.
“Four weeks later, the cheeky little boy we loved so much is talking to the nurses, playing with his feet and smiling again.
“We are amazed at how far it has come.”
They stated that “we are not at the end of our journey” but that they hope that the last operation “will be the last operation for now”, meaning that if everything goes well, we can return home soon.
The family said: “Returning home, we face new challenges shaped by his physical and psychological recovery and rehabilitation.
“We are both taking temporary leave from work to support our son’s rehabilitation.
“We don’t know what recovery and rehabilitation looks like right now, but we know our son needs us more than ever.”
They signed off on the post thanking people for their well-wishes and support, saying they were “forever grateful.”
More than £70,000 has been donated to the fundraising campaign to date. can be found via this link.
