Easton Oliverson: Injured Little Leaguer speaks publicly after transfer home

CNN
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The Instagram account set up to provide updates on injured Little Leaguer Easton Oliverson posted a video of the 12-year-old on Tuesday speaking after being transferred to his home state of Utah.

The video posted on the @miraclesfortank account showed Easton thanking people for their prayers and encouraged them to keep him in their thoughts.

“Hi everyone, this is Easton – thank you for all of your prayers,” Easton said. “Please keep praying for me as I continue to get better, I know the prayers and blessings have worked, and that heavenly Father is blessing me.”

Easton, whose nickname is ‘Tank,’ was due to take part in the Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with his Utah-based Snow Canyon Little League team, but suffered a fractured skull after falling from a bunk bed at the players’ dormitories.

It required him to be airlifted to a hospital, according to the Instagram account.

Since his fall on August 15, Easton has made significant strides in his recovery, including emerging from a medically induced coma and eating without a feeding tube.

Easton had been undergoing treatment at Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville, Pennsylvania, but was transferred to Salt Lake City on Tuesday, the account said in a post on Monday.

“While this is a great step forward, it’s bitter sweet leaving behind the people that have put their heart and souls into Easton’s recovery. THANK YOU to each and every individual at Geisinger Hospital who played a role in taking care of, and saving our boy,” the post said.

The post also expressed gratitude for the doctors who “saved Easton’s life.”

“They have executed each step in Easton’s journey from the first night until now with love, precision, intelligence, and care. We have, and will always have the utmost respect” for the doctors, it said.

The update noted that while Easton has made remarkable steps toward recovery, he “still has a long road ahead of him.”

It’s been two weeks since the Little Leaguer underwent critical surgery after his fall at the Little League World Series dormitories in Williamsport.

On Friday, he underwent an additional surgery to put his skull cap back in. After the procedure, Easton was in pain and his face was swollen, but he was able to snack on one of his favorite foods – nachos – while in recovery, the account said.

To prepare for his return to Utah, Easton had been “receiving physical therapy and working on different skills,” according to the Instagram account.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the video was Easton’s first time speaking publicly since his injury.