Ride-Injured Boy Moves Arms and Legs

Brandon Zucker, the 4-year-old boy critically injured on a Disneyland ride, showed signs of improvement Monday, his doctor said.

Marianne Cinat, Brandon’s trauma surgeon at UCI Medical Center in Orange, said she cut back on his medication slightly over the weekend, taking him off the strong muscle relaxants that had been keeping him immobile. Brandon responded by moving his arms and legs voluntarily.

“It doesn’t say anything 100% for sure, but it’s a good sign that he’s moving on his own. . . . He’s definitely shown signs of improvement,” Cinat said. “He does respond when we touch him or if we need to start an IV. . . . He’s very sensitive to it.”

In addition, some of the swelling in Brandon’s brain and body has gone down, Cinat said.

Brandon remains in critical condition, in a drug-induced coma and hooked to a ventilator. Brandon, from Canyon Country in northern Los Angeles County, was injured Sept. 22 on Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin ride at Disneyland.

Brandon was seated closest to the cutout doorway in a “taxicab” with his mother, Victoria Zucker, and 6-year-old brother, Nicholas. His father, David Zucker, and a grandparent were in a car behind them.

Somehow, Brandon fell from the ride and was trapped beneath a heavy cab for several minutes before he could be freed. Officials from the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health, the primary agency investigating the Disneyland accident, said Monday that they still do not know what went wrong. The ride remained closed Monday pending the outcome of the investigation.

Park guests who tried to aid the 45-pound boy said he was folded under the ride, head to knees. When Anaheim paramedics arrived on the scene, the little boy had no pulse, though a Disneyland nurse was performing CPR on him.

By the time Brandon arrived at the hospital, however, he had a very weak pulse. Doctors still do not know how long Brandon went without oxygen and whether he suffered brain damage.

His liver, spleen and diaphragm were torn in the accident, and he suffered a fractured pelvis and collapsed lung. Brandon’s condition was so critical that hospital officials have been very cautious about his prognosis.

Even now, Cinat said she is not sure whether Brandon will wake up or if he will be the same boy he was before the accident. He remains heavily sedated on painkillers and other drugs, so many that it is too soon to run neurological tests.

“We just continue to wait and slowly try to remove the support and sedation as we can,” Cinat said. “We’ve jumped a lot of hurdles since he’s gotten here. There’s several more to get over.”

Cinat, who calls Brandon a fighter, said children are often more resilient than adults. Already, Brandon has survived two surgeries and been weaned from some blood pressure medication.

Cinat said Brandon’s parents maintain their hospital vigil. The Zuckers have asked the public to continue praying for Brandon.

“They’re pleased with every positive report we can give them,” Cinat said. “We’ll take every bit of progress we can as each day goes on.”

*

Friends have established a fund to assist the Zucker family with expenses. Donations can be made at any Washington Mutual branch or mailed to: Washington Mutual, Attn: Family of Brandon Zucker, 910 S. Brookhurst St., Anaheim, CA 92804. Checks should be made payable to “The Family of Brandon Zucker.”