An 8-year-old boy from Colorado suffered burns and a broken skull after a horseback riding excursion during a family vacation in Belize went terribly wrong.
Stefan Keryan was horseback riding on 7 December in Belize when he fell off his mount and was dragged along the pavement for two miles. The boy suffered third-degree burns and a fractured skull as a result.
Stefan is now back in Colorado where he is receiving treatment for his burns and injuries to his brain, according to a Facebook post shared by his mother, Heidi Keryan.
Despite having his skull fractured and his brain bruised, it appears Stefan has not suffered brain damage, according to CBS News. Though, he may need to have part of his scalp replaced.
Ms Keryan told the network shortly after her son’s incident that she felt like she was living a nightmare.
"It went from us being in this tropical paradise to being in a nightmare. I mean, I don’t know how to explain it because I still feel like it’s a nightmare. And hopefully I’m going to wake up soon, but unfortunately, it’s not. And I just want to get my son home. I just want him to live," she said.
She also appeared on Good Morning America where she recounted the incident that left her son in critical care.
"I heard yelling and I looked over and as [the horse] was running past, I see that the saddle is flipped and that my son is being dragged by his foot," Heidi Keryan told the program. "My daughter and I started yelling and screaming and running as fast as we could to get to him but that horse was really fast."
Stefan was initially treated in Belize and remained hospitalised there until 12 December. A pair of strangers who heard about his story helped organise a medevac for the boy so he could be returned to his home state.
"My baby is finally home," Ms Keryan wrote in her Facebook post. "Words cannot express the gratitude I have for all the angels and heroes who helped to rescue my son."
Stefan appears to be responsive. In one of Ms Keryan’s photos attached to her Facebook note, her son is seen lying in a hospital bed smiling.
In a follow-up Facebook post from 13 December, Ms Keryan said her son was beginning to undergo surgeries, but noted his pain was "under control" and his vitals appeared strong.
