After skull surgery, injured Little Leaguer is in pain but preparing to transfer back to Utah

ByJacob Lev, CNNWire
Monday, August 29, 2022
LLWS player hurt in bunk bed fall recovering, brother takes spot
LLWS player hurt in bunk bed fall recovering, brother takes spotLittle League World Series officials announced that Snow Canyon was filling Easton's open roster spot with his brother, Brogan Oliverson.

Following a skull surgery Friday, injured Little Leaguer Easton Oliverson is in "quite a bit of pain," but his family and doctors are preparing to transfer him back to his home state of Utah this week, according to a post on the Instagram account set up to provide updates on his condition.

The account posted a picture Sunday night of 12-year-old Easton smiling and eating nachos, "his favorite food," in his hospital bed. The post also included a picture of a long line of stitches stretching across his skull.

Easton was critically injured August 15 after falling out of a bunk bed at the Little League World Series dormitories in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Last week, the player underwent a procedure to put his skull cap back in.

"He has spent a great amount of his time the last couple days resting from his surgery on Friday morning. He has been in quite a bit of pain, so his medical team has been doing their best to try and manage this. The right side of his face is swollen again from his surgery," the post said.

Easton has been "receiving physical therapy and working on different skills" in preparation for his transfer back to Utah.

The post continued, "Thank you all for following along, and rallying behind Tank through his recovery. Please continue to pray that his pain will be manageable, and that all will go well with the planning and executing of transferring him to (Salt Lake City) this week. THANK YOU, we love you."

The Snow Canyon Little League player has made a remarkable recovery since he was airlifted to a children's hospital in a critical condition nearly two weeks ago. His father previously told CNN he was "fighting for his life," with doctors saying he was just 30 minutes from death. He underwent surgery and was placed in a medically induced coma.

In the days since, Easton has made significant strides, including having his feeding tube removed and walking the entire floor of his hospital unit without stopping, according to updates posted to the Instagram account.