Stefan Keryan: Colorado boy, 8, battles for life after being dragged by a horse for two miles on hard pavement
BELMOPAN, BELIZE: A Colorado boy is battling for his life after he suffered life-threatening injuries during a vacation in Belize. The 8-year-old Stefan Keryan was on a horseback excursion with his family on Wednesday, December 7, when he fell off and was dragged on the pavement for two miles. During the tragic incident, the boy suffered a skull fracture and third-degree burns.
Stefan was on his first cruise vacation with his family when the boat stopped in Belize. The family decided to take a horseback riding tour on the stop. Explaining the horrifying ordeal, his mother Heidi said, "'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." "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," she told Good Morning America. The brutally injured boy was stuck in Belize until Monday, December 12, when he was flown back home on Peak Medevac thanks to two strangers who offered to help after hearing his story.
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Stefan is now receiving medical treatment back home in Aurora, Colorado, where he is being treated for his burns and a bruised brain. Fortunately, the boy didn't suffer any brain damage but might need surgery to replace a portion of his scalp, according to CBS News, reported Daily Mail. "My baby is finally home," Heidi announced with joy on Facebook. "Words cannot express the gratitude I have for all the angels and heroes who helped to rescue my son. We will get through everything else because he has the best care he can get at children's hospital," Heidi continued. "He is sleeping soundly now," the post added.
Stefan's grandfather has set up a GoFundMe page. The fundraiser mentions that before Peak Medevac offered the family a free flight for Stefan, they were prepared to pay more than $12,000 to bring him home. His family estimated the hospital bills will cost around $50,000, but the fundraiser has successfully fulfilled its goal with $68,000 being raised as of Tuesday, December 13. Stefan's teachers made 'welcome home' signs for his return and stationed them near the airplane runaway as he was seen being taken out on a gurney on Monday December 12. They even made efforts to raise awareness about his accident.
"I was shocked and my heart was broken and I was scared for him and scared for the situation and I felt like we urgently needed to have a plan moving forward to help him all hands-on deck," teacher Carisa Olmos told KDVR. "We started talking with [his] mom and we realized that mom’s efforts were not working as far as getting him back here to get medical care. So we connected with her and it was a team effort. We made phone calls, try a lot of things and the big push was getting the GoFundMe out there."