Tate Modern attack: French boy thrown from balcony now able to sit up
Written by News on 26/03/2020
A six-year-old boy who was seriously injured when he was thrown from a 10th floor balcony at the Tate Modern is now able to sit up and hold a spoon.
The French child, who cannot be named because of his age, is “slowly but surely continuing to progress”, his family have said.
He was attacked by autistic teenager Jonty Bravery at the London art gallery on 4 August last year.
In a post on a GoFundMe page for the victim, the family said that “after a slump”, their “smiling little boy” seems to be coming back.
“He has gained muscle tone and regained enough strength to manage to sit longer in a sitting position and straighter in his chair without the help of his corset,” the post read.
“He can now eat all soft foods and can almost eat all of his meals on his own, holding his spoon himself with his right hand.
“As he has more strength, he also has more breath and for that reason, we understand better what he says and he manages to speak to us more.”
In a December update, the family said the child was beginning to move his limbs but was having trouble with his left arm and hand.
The latest announcement says he is continuing training on opening his left hand but is now managing to move his left arm a little.
“Only few movements, very approximate and they exhaust him so much that he very quickly starts yawning, but for him, it’s the beginning of the reconquest of his left arm,” it said.
The GoFundMe page has raised more than €221,000 (£199,000) for the boy’s treatment and rehabilitation.
The family also had a message for supporters during the coronavirus pandemic, thanking them for “continuing to think of our little knight in these difficult times”.
“At the hospital, the situation is more complicated with the coronavirus epidemic and containment measures, but you are still there for us.
“Please stay safe and take care of yourself and those you love.”
The boy suffered a bleed to the brain, fractures to his spine and broken legs and arms when he was thrown from the art gallery’s viewing platform.
He spent several weeks in intensive care after travelling to London with his family.
Bravery, now aged 18, from Ealing, west London, admitted a charge of attempted murder at the Old Bailey in December.
(c) Sky News 2020: Tate Modern attack: French boy thrown from balcony now able to sit up
