'It's A Miracle': Toddler Who Survived Minneapolis Balcony Fall To Make Full Recovery
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A deeply-grieving Minneapolis family has a new sense of hope after an accident that made headlines, and broke hearts.
On May 2, two little boys fell out of their south Minneapolis apartment balcony onto a landing, then tumbled three stories to the ground. Two-year-old Abdiquani Abdi died from the fall. His 1-and-a-half-year-old brother, Abdirizak, was rushed to Hennepin Healthcare.
Abdirizak is now back home at his family's apartment, smiling and playing with his colorful blocks.
Grad Darhir is a close family friend who sat beside and spoke for the boys' father.
"Starting from the mother, father and anyone of his family, friends, people are very glad to see Abdirizak is with me today. And he is with us, this interview, smiling, sharing. It's amazing. It's a miracle. It's a miracle," said translator Darhir. "We have accepted it, everybody has accepted it and whatever we have, whatever the family has is just to thank to Allah."
And what they have is a healthy little boy. He says Abdirizak had three broken ribs and a head fracture that will heal.
"His brain, his organs are perfectly fine," Darhir said.
But there is a scar you can't see.
"He's just running around, trying to find his sibling, his brother. He doesn't know what to say, and he doesn't know what happened, but he knows something is wrong," he said.
And nothing will ever be right again, but things are better knowing that Abdirizak is better.
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"For every parent to be very careful. It could happen to anyone and we don't want to lose anyone. We have to be very careful as much as possible," he said.
The family's porch is now protected by a metal grate, a reminder of how much they lost. And Abdirizak's smile is a reminder of how much they still have.
The landlord tells WCCO-TV he will continue to grate and cover every single one of the balconies in hopes this never happens again.
The family is facing major medical bills as Abdirizak continues to recover. A GoFundMe has been set up to help them.