A boy thrown from the 10th floor of London’s Tate Modern art gallery is practicing a light form of judo and adapted archery as his condition improves, according to his family.
The French youth was six when he was seriously injured in an attack by Jonty Bravery at the tourist attraction in August 2019.
Bravery, an autistic teenager, was in assisted living at the time of the attack but was released unsupervised. He intended to pick and kill someone, he later told the court.
His victim, on holiday with his parents, survived the 30m fall but suffered life-changing injuries including a brain haemorrhage and broken bones.
Bravery was convicted of attempted murder in 2020 and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Posting on a GoFundMe page which has raised nearly £354,000 for the youngster’s recovery, his family said he was increasingly taking part in physical activity as part of his treatment.
“Our son has always loved sports”
“Since September, we have returned to Paris several times to consult with specialists because we need to monitor the development of our son’s back, shoulder and hip joint given his growth,” they said.
“Now we will have to do this check every six months to make sure he doesn’t need a brace again. Likewise, some new operations may unfortunately be required.
“For prevention, specialists recommend appropriate physical activity. So we signed our son up for horse therapy and a swimming pool with his specialist pedagogue.
“And the latter also accompanies him, since the end of October, to judo. He does it very gently and doesn’t let go of an inch of the tatami, of course.
“From time to time we also take him to adapted archery. Our son has always loved sports, he enjoys all of it.”
“Our little knight has made significant progress”
They added: “We also found a new speech and language therapist and thanks to her our little knight has made great progress in swallowing and breathing.
“He can blow out candles again, hardly ever takes wrong turns when drinking liquids, and is starting to keep the rhythm of songs better.
“He is also doing orthoptics and his vision is improving even more, as is his memory thanks to cognitive remediation sessions with his neuropsychologist.
“He remembers more and more things he did or was told during the day.”
The family said the boy had “very positive” results at school and added: “Our son’s teacher and guide are very pleased with his progress: he manages to follow the class despite his difficulties because he is extremely brave and hardworking.
“Also, with all of his mobility progress (balance, left arm, muscle strengthening, etc.), he is increasingly able to play on his own at home and in the hospital.
“It’s a huge step towards his autonomy, even if he’s still very dependent for very simple everyday tasks (tuck his t-shirt into his pants, cut his meat, wash his hair, etc.).”
Add Comment