DANVILLE, Penn. — The 12-year-old Utah baseball player who suffered a serious brain injury at the Little League World Series showed overnight signs of improvement.
Easton Oliverson fractured his skull Sunday night after falling from his bunk bed inside the Pennsylvania barracks where he and his team were staying. Oliverson was airlifted to a hospital where he underwent surgery to stop bleeding around his brain caused by a punctured artery.
Oliverson's father, Jace, said doctors were able to stop the bleeding during the operation..
"His pupils were extremely dilated but with the piece of skull removed and hematoma removed and the bleeding being stopped they've come back down and seem to be functioning normally," Jace Oliverson shared with a Facebook page created to update his son's condition.
On Tuesday, the page said a friend of Easton's was able to speak with him on the phone, and when he asked Easton to give a thumbs up, he was able to on both thumbs.
"We are so grateful for these little miracles," the page organizers wrote.
While he still has a breathing tube, Easton's body has been "reacting well" after doctors began to back off his oxygen, and a neurosurgeon said the boy's CT scan came back "great," according to Jace.
Another doctor said Easton has done everything they were hoping he would be able to do in the last 12 hours.
"Just 36 hours ago, Easton was 30 minutes from passing away. Now 36 hours later, he has a team of Trauma 1 doctors who are in absolute awe of his tremendous progress," friends of Oliverson wrote.
Easton's family is now awaiting the results of an MRI to learn more about his status and recovery.
Oliverson's teammates from the Snow Canyon Little League in Santa Clara will play Friday after Jace Oliverson encouraged the club to stay focused despite his son's injury.
A @MiraclesForTank Venmo account has been created to help the family with medical expenses.
