Boy Injured on Ride No Longer in Coma

The 4-year-old boy who suffered severe brain damage after being pinned beneath a Disneyland ride is out of a coma and has recognized his parents, his health-care provider said Saturday.

Brandon Zucker has been minimally responsive, but his physical recovery is improving and body movement is functioning, said Robert Buckley, critical program director at HealthBridge Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital in Tustin.

“He has been able to recognize [when people] touch [him] and [when] people . . . talk to him,” Buckley said. “He seems to relax when he hears his mother’s voice.”

Brandon fell from Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin ride on Sept. 22 and was dragged about 10 feet by a car behind his. He did not have a pulse and was not breathing when paramedics arrived. Brandon was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he underwent surgeries for multiple internal injuries.

The boy was transferred Friday to the acute rehabilitation hospital, where his parents, Veronica and David Zucker of Canyon Country in northern Los Angeles County, hold a constant vigil and remain bedside daily.

A team of doctors and therapists, including one that specializes in the Feldenkris method, a special movement therapy, are working to provoke more responses from the boy, Buckley said. Sensory stimulation--visual, sound and movement--are the first priorities.

“He has to relearn a lot of things he did before,” Buckley said. “It’ll take some time but he’s settling down and getting comfortable and that’s a good start.”