The six-year-old boy who fell five floors after he was allegedly thrown from a viewing platform at the Tate Modern is regaining movement in his right arm and hand, according to an update from the family.
The unnamed boy, who is understood to be French, was holidaying with his family when he was attacked in August. He suffered a bleed on the brain and fractures to his spine, legs and arms.
A 17-year-old boy is accused of attempting to murder him. No plea has been entered and psychiatric reports have been ordered for the suspect. Any trial would be listed to last two weeks and would be held in the new year.
In an update posted on a fundraising page, organiser Vicky Diplacto wrote that the child “doesn’t know anymore how to speak, to eat or to move his body, but he begins to do his best to move his tongue, his right arm and hand.”
“He is very brave. He keeps on smiling and reacting to our jokes. We begin to see also, unfortunately, his suffering, since two days, when he understands that he does not manage to move or eat.
“Actually, he understands everything, but doesn’t understand why he cannot manage to eat or swallow a little bit of yoghurt for instance… and he wants so much to be able to do it.”
Diplacto, from Surrey, whose own brother was paralysed in an incident overseas, added that the family was committed to staying strong for their little boy, and that they hoped to have more positive news in future.
The crowd-funding initiative, which aims to cover the medical costs for the injured French boy’s family, has so far raised more than €95,000.
The Tate Modern was the UK’s most popular tourist attraction in 2018 after being visited 5.9 million times, according to the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions.