Boy Injured at Disneyland Is Tested for Brain Swelling

Brandon Zucker, the 4-year-old boy critically injured on the Roger Rabbit Car Toon Spin attraction at Disneyland, returned briefly to UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange this week because of complications from his injury.

Brandon spent several weeks after the Sept. 22 accident at that hospital, but was transferred in early November to HealthBridge Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital, a long-term care facility in Orange.

Monday night, he was taken back to the medical center for more testing and to treat brain swelling, said Elinor Silverstein, a family friend who has also been doing a kind of touch therapy with Brandon.

Doctors did some tests and decided that Brandon did not immediately need a brain shunt to help reduce the swelling, and by Tuesday afternoon he was back at HealthBridge, Silverstein said.

Despite the unplanned hospital visit, Brandon continues to show limited progress, she said, showing occasional glimpses of recognition when the telephone rings or when he hears other sounds.

Brandon, who will turn 5 in January, was trapped beneath a Disneyland ride vehicle for about 10 minutes. When he was freed, he was not breathing and had no pulse.

The 45-pound boy suffered a torn liver, spleen and diaphragm, a collapsed lung and a fractured pelvis. It is unclear how long his brain went without oxygen, but he suffered severe brain damage.

He is now described as “minimally responsive.”

State officials from the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, which is investigating the accident, said they are completing their report.