Wife of rodeo star Spencer Wright shares tragic update on three-year-old son Levi after river accident
Kallie Wright, wife of rodeo star Spencer Wright, shared a heartbreaking update on their three-year-old son, Levi, who is in critical condition after an accident in the Utah River.
Levi nearly drowned and was feared brain-dead after he fell off a toy tractor into the river on Tuesday. Though he woke up briefly on Friday, the boy's mother said on Friday the family is "shattered" after seeing the MRI result.
"The MRI wasn't good, we're shattered but it is just images that suggest a certain quality of life," wrote Kallie Wright, who has been posting updates about her son on Facebook. "Our real teller of all will be what Levi does over the course of a few days."
Levi was admitted to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City after his accident on Tuesday. Although the MRI results appeared discouraging, there were signs of progress earlier that gave the family hope.
Family friend Mindy Clark, who has also posted updates about the boy on social media, shared Friday that Levi's EEG monitor showed brain activity when he heard his sister's voice telling him "how she was hoping he'd get better and couldn't wait for him to come home." The monitor also reacted when the family played him dinosaur sounds from one of his favorite books and when his mother kissed him, Clark said.
Wright asked for prayers as the family continues to seek the best medical opinions and care for Levi.
"Please continue to pray! I'm not giving up on my baby just yet," she wrote. "I'm working on getting any and all neurologists or other educated professionals with expertise in this area who are willing to view his MRI. Then just seeing what my strong boys does in the next few days. You might not hear from me for a few days, we are going to focus on our Beans!"
Levi was playing outside his family's Beaver County home on Tuesday when his mother briefly went inside. By the time she returned, the toddler was nowhere to be found.
"I need everyone in Beaver to come to my house and help find my son in the water," she posted on Facebook during the search.
Although they didn't disclose the child's name, the Beaver County Sheriff's Office wrote in a statement that it had received a call about a boy who had fallen into the river off a toy tractor around 6 p.m. that day. He was found unconscious in the water about a mile downstream, Clark told KUTV.
"[Kallie] saw his little tractor overturned and immediately dialed 911 and jumped into the water to find him," Clark told KUTV. "We don't know how long he had been in the water, but he had been carried quite a ways."
Initially, the family's outlook was grim, but testing performed Wednesday began to lift their hopes.
"Our doctor was a little taken aback by her exam as they came in the room to end care. She felt strongly that we needed to give him more time," the family said Wednesday. "Now this doesn't mean that in 12 hours we won't be right back in the same position with him in my arms preparing for goodbye but it does mean we have time for a miracle.... Don't give up on my boy just yet."
Clark wrote that the family is "unbelievably humbled" by the love and prayers they've received since the child was injured.
The toddler's father, 33-year-old Spencer Wright, is ranked No. 40 in the world in saddle bronc riding. He and his three brothers made history in 2014 when all four qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Wright ultimately won the championship.
The family was the subject of the book "The Last Cowboys" and has been featured on an episode of "60 Minutes."
Earlier this year, Wright won the Rio Grande Livestock Show and Rodeo in Mercedes, Texas.
Fox News' Christina Coulter contributed to this report.