A three-year-old boy who was injured in a zoo’s crocodile enclosure faces more surgeries and lengthy rehabilitation as his parents thanked donors who raised €30,000 for the family.
The parents said they have been “living at the hospital” and their son has undergone five surgeries since the incident at Johnsons of Old Hurst, in Cambridgeshire, on June 18th.
A fundraising page set up to support the boy’s recovery and rehabilitation, as well as to provide the family with financial stability while they support him in hospital, has now raised more than €30,000 (€26,000).
An update from the parents, posted on the fundraising page, said: “We are extremely grateful for everyone’s generosity.
“We could never thank you enough for the support you have given our family in this horrible time.”
The donations have helped ease the pressure of these expenses so we are extremely grateful to everyone
They added: “We have been living at the hospital for two weeks now and our son has undergone five surgeries.”
They said they know he will have to undergo at least two more surgeries and that the last two weeks have been “a very uncertain and unsettling time”.
The update continued: “His rehabilitation journey is uncertain but we do know that it won’t be a short process. The money that has been donated so far has been used to pay for our expenses.
“We are both currently away from work and the time in which this will need to be the case is unknown.”
They added: “The donations have helped ease the pressure of these expenses so we are extremely grateful to everyone.
“Further donations will be used to support our son’s rehabilitation and to give back to the hospital who have helped us in many ways during this challenging time. Thank you.”
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.
Police said the boy remains in Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge in a “stable condition”, having been “injured by a crocodile” after he ended up in the enclosure.
On Friday, the owners of the zoo praised the “incredible speed and determination” of those who helped him.
Johnsons of Old Hurst said in a social media post they were “alerted to reports that a child had allegedly been thrown into one of our crocodile enclosures” on June 18th.
“Everyone who was on site that day acted with incredible speed and determination,” the post on Instagram said.
“Within minutes of the first radio call, the child had been rescued from the enclosure and was receiving first aid.
“The emergency services arrived very quickly, supported by the MAGPAS Air Ambulance, and we cannot thank them enough for their professionalism, compassion and dedication in such difficult circumstances.”
Johnsons of Old Hurst expressed “heartfelt thanks to the visitors who stepped forward to help, including off-duty paramedics and police officers”.
They said their “calm and immediate actions made a real difference”.
The attraction added: “We are immensely proud of our own staff, who responded without hesitation and did everything they could to help and support the child until the emergency services took over.
“The kindness we have received from our local community and from people across the country has been overwhelming.
“Every message of support, every kind word and every expression of concern has meant a great deal to our family and our team during an incredibly difficult time.
“Thank you for standing with us.
“Above all, our thoughts remain with the young boy and his family.
“We continue to hope and pray for his speedy recovery, and ask that they are given the privacy, compassion and support they need at this time.”
The message was signed off: “The Johnsons.”
In a statement released through police on Wednesday, the boy’s family said they wished to “thank the staff at the zoo who rescued our son from the enclosure”.
Police were called to the zoo at 1.24pm by the ambulance service to reports that a three-year-old boy had suffered serious injuries.
Cambridgeshire Police said the boy “sustained serious injuries while in the enclosure” and “was pulled out by staff from the zoo”.
Tracey Johnson, the zoo’s co-owner, reportedly jumped into the enclosure to save the child.
The fundraising page can be found here.