A 7-year-old boy suffered multiple fractures after a 658 pound tree branch fell on him from 100 feet high in a park.
Doctors told the mother of Sacha Saucek that the boy might not recover even if he survived, but the strong-willed Sacha is now on his way to full recovery.
Recuperation after the horrifying accident was a miracle. Sacha suffered multiple injuries often seen in victims of severe vehicular accidents. The weight of the tree was so much for the boy that it fractured his skull, ribs, arms, right leg, the lower part of his spine and also his pelvis.
Sacha, who is now 8 years old, attended a school trip at Richmond Park on July 10. He and his friend heard a loud crash as the branch started to fall. He tried to flee but he stumbled and the branch fell on his head.
Twelve years ago, the same accident happened when 12-year-old Nathan Louis was also crushed by a branch at the park. Unlike Sacha, however, Nathan succumbed to his injuries and died.
When Sacha's accident happened, his mother Jo was working nearby. When she was called to the site of the accident, she found him lying on the ground as others called paramedics.
"I was convinced he was dead. He was unconscious," Jo recounted.
The boy was transported to the Royal London Hospital where paramedics attended to him. He was again transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital where he underwent surgery. Doctors had to remove a fragment of his skull that was pushed through his brain.
Sacha was in an induced coma. When he woke up, he was slowly able to do the things he used to do before the accident. His 11-year-old brother would stay and watch YouTube videos with him.
"'It was amazing. We were told he would be permanently disabled. But he did so well," Jo said.
The Saucek family has establised the Support for Sacha GoFundMe page for those interested in helping the family cover long-term medical expenses.
Park-related accidents are not common but they do happen. In September, a tree fell at Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan in New York, injuring five people, including a young girl who suffered lacerations.
A 2009 study commissioned by the National Tree Safety Group reported a mean rate of 6.4 tree-related fatalities per year in the United Kingdom over a 10-year period.
