8-year-old Colorado boy fighting for his life after horseback riding accident in Belize
An 8-year-old boy from Colorado is now fighting for his life after he was dragged by a horse in Belize on Wednesday.
The mother, Heidi Keryan, of the the 8-year-old boy, Steffan Keryan, is asking the community to help bring the young boy home after their dream vacation quickly turned into their worst nightmare.
"It went from us being in this tropical paradise to being in a nightmare. I mean, I don't know how to explain it because I still feel like it's a nightmare. And hopefully I'm going to wake up soon, but unfortunately, it's not. And I just want to get my son home. I just want him to live," said Heidi Keryan.
It all began when the family jumped on their first-ever Carnival Cruise.
"My family and I had never been on a cruise before, so it was a pretty, pretty big deal to us," said Keryan.
One of their stops was in Belize City, in Belize.
"We all got off the ship to go on an excursion, which was to go to a horseback riding," said Keryan.
They said they planned to go to a monkey sanctuary that had horseback riding included in the tour, but that took a bad turn.
"My 8-year-old son there was in an accident that happened like a freak accident. He ended up getting dragged by the horse for almost two miles on gravel pavement on his back and on his head and so now he's in the hospital for this. Now he's in the hospital fighting for his life. They've stabilized him, but they can't give him the care that he needs, especially given the severity of his injuries and so he needs a flight."
She says the horse was stopped, but after a lot of damage had been done.
"My older daughter and I had were already back and saw him being dragged and eventually were able to catch up with him. Somebody got in a car and was able to stop the horse," said Keryan.
The family is pleading for help right now, they feel as if time is ticking as Steffan is now dealing with 3rd degree burns from the friction, a bruised brain and will most likely need surgery to replace part of his scalp.
"He needs a medical ambulance aircraft, essentially with medical personnel to get him from Belize City to our home state of Colorado and get him to the Children's Hospital," added Keryan.
Steffan was riding the horse without a helmet. The family says they weren't provided one by the owners of the horses, they also added the business is not licensed.
"if anybody knows of anybody that can come and get them that works too…or has any other ideas of how to get him out of here and back to Colorado as soon as possible that would be great, too. It doesn't have to be a donation and prayers for him. Lots of love, love vibes and prayers straight for him because he really needs it. He's scared. He is in and out of consciousness. He is....he just wants to come home," said Keryan.
The family believes it is going to cost $50,000 to cover the medical bills and get him back to the states.
A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up to help cover the costs.
