Three-year-old Levi Wright lifted his head and "got a bit wiggly" in a Utah hospital after opening his eyes for the first time since his near-drowning, a friend of the family has revealed, five days after he was first swept nearly a mile down a swift river.
"We got a call from his parents on FaceTime saying that he had opened his eyes," family friend Mindy Clark told KUTV.
"They weren't fully open, and he wasn't coherent in speaking or anything like that, but he was opening his eyes, and then he got a little bit wiggly and stuff. So they had just sedate him because he was being a little wild."
The toddler was first rushed to the hospital after he accidentally drove his toy tractor into a river on the family's property, on Tuesday. Levi's mother, Kallie, called 911 and began searching for her son. He was discovered unconscious, in the water, a mile away from where he initially fell.
The Utah family has received an outpouring of support, particularly from the rodeo community. Levi's father, Spencer, is ranked 40th in the world in bronc riding, according to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
Bronc Riding Nation - a nonprofit organization that supports rodeo athletes - shared an Instagram post supporting the Wright family on Wednesday.
"We're asking you to join the massive prayer effort for three-year-old Levi Wright, Kallie and Spencer Wright and everybody who knows and loves them," the organization wrote.
"Kallie and Spencer were holding him and getting prepared for the worst - then the hospital shift change brought a new doctor to the sweet little boy's side."
The new doctor arranged for an MRI, to better understand the boy's condition, after spending so long underwater.
"The MRI results weren't exactly what we were hoping," Clark told KUTV. "And the reason I say that is because we had some little blips of hope this week as far as him opening his eyes and being responsive to his sister's voice when she was on FaceTime and stuff like that."
Clark said her friends had received an overwhelming amount of news during their son's hospital stay.
"They're not in good spirits, they're not in bad spirits. They're just kind of there if that makes sense," Clark told KUTV. "They're trying to process all the news that they've gotten within the last 24 hours."
