7-Year-Old Boy Recovering from Brain Injury After Being Run Over by Golf Cart in ‘Freak Accident’

The boy’s family says he is making small but meaningful steps in his recovery

NEED TO KNOW

• A 7-year-old Indiana boy was accidentally run over by a golf cart while playing with his sisters
• Lennon suffered a grade 3 diffuse axonal brain injury and spent six days in the PICU
• He has since moved to inpatient rehab and is making encouraging progress, according to his family

A 7-year-old Indiana boy is recovering after he was run over by a golf cart and suffered a serious brain injury, according to his family.

Lennon Simpson was hospitalized at Riley Children’s Hospital following the incident, which his cousin Jenny King described as a “freak accident.”

While playing in the yard with his sisters, Lennon was accidentally run over by a golf cart, according to local news station WHAS.

“It definitely was just a freak accident,” King told the outlet. “They were just being kids.”

In the days after the accident, Lennon remained unconscious as doctors treated his injuries. His family said he suffered a grade 3 diffuse axonal injury, a type of traumatic brain injury, according to a GoFundMe campaign organized by King.

On Aug. 8, King shared that Lennon had been taken off a breathing tube and was breathing on his own with oxygen.

“Lennon has a long road to recovery BUT we are making small steps to what we are praying is a full recovery!” she wrote in an update.

The following day, Lennon was still mostly in a deep sleep, but his family began seeing small signs of progress. King said he started opening his eyes for a few seconds when he was moved in his bed.

“Seeing his big brown eyes was just what my momma heart needed,” King wrote.

King said most of the trauma was to the left side of Lennon’s brain, affecting the right side of his body.

“It’s almost stroke-like symptoms,” she told WHAS. At that point, Lennon had very limited movement on his right side and could not sit up without support.

On Aug. 13, King said Lennon was showing increased awareness and had begun communicating through small signals. During speech therapy, he was able to give a thumbs-up when asked if he knew his name.

He was also able to look toward his parents and siblings when physical therapists asked him to find them by name, according to the update.

Then came another major milestone.

By Aug. 15, just eight days after the accident, Lennon had moved from the pediatric intensive care unit into inpatient rehabilitation at Riley Children’s Hospital, according to the GoFundMe.

King said Lennon’s neurosurgeon was “very impressed” by his rapid progress and told the family she had not seen that happen in a very long time, according to the family’s update on the fundraiser.

Lennon is now working with physical, occupational and speech therapists.

“He is able to drink through a straw, chew ice cubes, take small bites of yogurt, and even chewed 2 small pieces of Graham crackers with his speech therapist this morning,” King wrote.

He is still receiving his nutrition through a nasogastric tube and remains in need of care. He is not yet able to turn, roll or reposition himself on his own, according to his family.

“Every day we see small steps of improvement,” she told WHAS. “They get him up, he’s in a wheelchair, he’s doing things, and he’s exhausted after they’re finished.”

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Lennon’s parents, who have eight children, have remained by his side during his hospitalization, according to the GoFundMe.

The fundraiser says the family needs to be away from work while Lennon remains hospitalized and is seeking help with household bills, transportation to and from the hospital and medical expenses not covered by insurance.

“The community has just stepped up huge for this family,” King told WHAS. “People that we don’t even know have really stepped up to help out, and that’s just amazing and really gives us some hope in humanity.”

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