A three-year-old boy who was seriously injured in a zoo’s crocodile enclosure has had seven operations in hospital and his family said they are “amazed at how far he has come” and that he is “smiling again”.
Johnsons of Old Hurst, near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, said in a social media post it was “alerted to reports that a child had allegedly been 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 bailed as police said he was “assessed as not being fit for interview”.
The suspect in the case reportedly has learning difficulties and had been on a trip with carers, and an investigation has been launched into his care.
In an update shared on a fundraising page on Wednesday, the child’s family thanked people for their support and said the boy is now “talking to the nurses, playing using his feet and smiling again”.
An explanation on the page, written by the boy’s grandmother, said his parents remain at his side in hospital in Cambridge.
“Today our son had his seventh surgery,” they said, in an update on the GoFundMe page set up to support the family financially and help the boy’s recovery and rehabilitation.
“In that surgery the surgeons completed a nerve graft on his left arm.
“They harvested a nerve from his leg to replace part of the nerve that was missing in his left arm.
“Over time, this nerve will hopefully embed and help our son to regain some function in his left hand.
“We won’t know whether the nerve graft has been successful until tests can be carried out in a few months’ time.”
The most recent update gave further details on the boy’s care, including that he underwent a 12-hour operation after being admitted to hospital on the day of the incident.
“Shortly after we arrived (in hospital on June 18), our son underwent a 12-hour surgery where the surgeons performed miraculous things,” the post said.
“They were faced with tendon damage, nerve damage, blood vessel damage, broken bones and severe tissue damage in both his arms, neck, head and face.
“Those were the worst 12 hours of our lives as before that we were signing consent forms involving resuscitation and amputation.
“We were unsure if our son was going to make it and that was the worst feeling in the world.
“Four weeks later and the cheeky little boy that we love so much is talking to the nurses, playing using his feet and smiling again.
“We are amazed at how far he has come.”
They said they are “not at the end of our journey” but “hopeful” the most recent operation “will be the last for now which means if everything goes well we will be able to go home soon”.
The family said: “Once home, we face new challenges shaped by his recovery and rehabilitation physically and psychologically.
“Both of us are taking time off work temporarily to support our son during his rehabilitation.
“We don’t know what recovery and rehabilitation looks like at this moment in time but we know our son needs us more than ever.”
They signed off the post by thanking people for their well-wishes and support, and said they are “forever grateful”.
More than £68,000 has been donated to the fundraising campaign to date. It can be found at gofundme.com/f/helping-the-family-of-3yr-old-injured-in-crocodile-enclosure.
