5-year-old boy thrown from Mall of America balcony out of critical condition
The condition of a 5-year-old boy, who was senselessly thrown from the third floor of Mall of America by a man who was "looking to kill someone," has improved from critical condition to alert and conscious, a family attorney said on Friday.
The child, identified as Landen by his family, has been in critical condition in a Minnesota hospital since the heinous attack on April 12.
"All praise, glory and honor to Jesus!" family attorney R. Stephen Tillitt read from a statement written the family of the seriously injured child. "We are so elated to let you know that our son is now alert and conscious and is no longer in critical condition!"
The news was delivered on a conference call with reporters on Friday — two weeks after the little boy was tossed over the railing, allegedly by Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda.
Aranda, 24, was charged with first-degree premeditated attempt to commit murder in Hennepin County. According to a probable cause document, Aranda told investigators he was "looking for someone to kill, but it did not 'work out.'"
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe campaign launched to aid the boy's family surpassed $1 million on Friday evening, according to ABC News St. Paul, Minnesota affiliate KTSP -- which noted that more than 28,000 people have donated a total of $1,000,070 as of 4:45 p.m. Friday.
"We are now turning our focus to additional surgeries, healing, rehabilitation and eventually a return home, which we hope will happen by June," said Tillitt, on behalf of the child's family.
A GoFundMe page was set up to help and raised close to $1 million as of Friday.
"We want to personally thank each and every one of you for your love, prayers and support...The road to recovery remains long, but with God and you, we are assured to make it through. Please keep praying for our son and may our loving God bless you and everyone you love," said Tillitt.
Dr. Navjot Sobti, an internal medicine resident physician at Dartmouth-Hitchcock-Medical Center/Dartmouth School of Medicine and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit, has been monitoring the Landen’s progress and reviewed the family medical update.
"This sounds like great news!" said Dr. Sobti. "From a medical perspective, it is reassuring that Landen is awake and interactive. This tells us that his brain is showing good signs of recovery from his traumatic brain injury. We knew from his ICU brain scan/MRI that he did not have ominous signs like brain swelling or a brain bleed."
Dr. Sobti agreed that the child's road to recovery will be long, but promising.
"Once Landen is out of the ICU, it will be important to monitor for things like seizures, his ability to communicate, walk, and engage in normal learning tasks," the doctor said. "While many kids recover quite well after traumatic brain injuries, sometimes better than expected — their recovery process can take a while. They can also have symptoms weeks to years out from the injury — ranging from headaches to issues with memory and problems with school performance."
