6-year-old boy swallowed by sinkhole making strong recovery
The little boy who was swallowed up by an 11-foot-deep sand-dune sinkhole two weeks ago is making a strong recovery, CBS News reports.
On Monday, 6-year-old Nathan Woessner took his first steps since the incident alongside his father, Greg Woessner, at the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital.
“Nathan is listed as in good condition and continues to improve,” Dr. Diana Mitchell of the University of Chicago Medicine told CBS News on Monday. She said Nathan was returning to a regular diet and could leave his room to visit the playroom.
Nathan has made a swift recovery since he was buried in a sand dune at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, but his fate wasn’t always so certain.
After a frantic rescue by firefighters, park officials, family and friends, Nathan was initially unresponsive. He was brought to the hospital in critical condition, where attempts to flush the sand out of his lungs fortunately proved successful.
“We’re especially thankful for the people here,” said the boy’s grandfather, Don Reul, of the hospital's staff. “They’re doing an outstanding job taking care of Nathan.”
According to the National Park Service, a decaying tree beneath the sand might have caused the sinkhole that swallowed Nathan. Authorities at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore are investigating the incident.
