15-month old Musa Dayib has been aptly dubbed "the miracle baby" after managing to escape death when he fell from an 11-story building, something that not even adults can go through and stay alive.
Although the boy is in critical condition and currently breathes through ventilator, he is in stable condition, said Christine Hill, a spokeswoman for the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota where the child is recovering after sustaining broken spine and ribs, a punctured lung and concussions.
Dayib fell from the balcony of his parents' apartment at Riverside Plaza in Minnesota Sunday night and miraculously survived when he landed on a small patch of mulch-covered ground. Family members believe the boy slipped through the railings.
Dayib's mother was reportedly running errands and his father was keeping watch over him and his older sister when the accident happened. The boy's father just went to get something from another room when his 3 year old daughter told him that her sibling fell.
Tina Slusher, from the pediatric intensive care unit of the Hennepin County Medical Center, said it is still too early to tell if the boy would suffer long term complications because of his fall. Nonetheless, she said that Dayib will likely be released from the hospital within weeks or months.
"If you and I fell that far, we would be dead," said Slusher. "He's a kid. So they tend to be more flexible and pliable than you and I would be. Having said that, it's a real gift from God that he made it because this is a huge fall."
Following the accident, residents of the Riverside Plaza apartments and community members met Tuesday evening to discuss safety measures that would prevent the same accident from happening again such as installing extra latch to doors that open to balconies.
Chris Sherman, owner of the apartments, said that the design of the building passed inspection after it underwent renovation less than five years ago. He also expressed his sympathy to Dayib and his family and said they will look at the possibility of adding childproof latches to doors if fire officials approve.
