Boy thrown from Tate Modern balcony able to play by himself, family says
The French youngster was six when he was badly hurt in an attack at the attraction in 2019.
The family of a boy thrown from the 10th floor of the Tate Modern art gallery say they are “proud of his progress” and he is now able to play by himself.
The French youngster was six when he was badly hurt in an attack by teenager Jonty Bravery at the London attraction four years ago.
The child, who was on holiday with his parents in August 2019, survived a 100ft (30m) fall but suffered life-changing injuries, including a bleed on the brain and broken bones.
His family, who call him “notre petit chevalier” – our little knight – said, in an update posted on a GoFundMe page he has “begun to chose activities for himself”.
The youngster, who spent months in intensive care, is said to be gaining maturity and independence.
“He can go play in the garden with the dog, sit down to draw, build with his Legos, take a board game or read in his room,” his family said.
“He is more careful in his movements and in his actions in general, which allows him to start helping in the house by feeding the dog for example, or clearing his plate.
“He is very proud now to be able to open his shutters by himself and above all to finally access the refrigerator to serve himself his dessert.”
The boy has gained strength on his left side, making him more stable when standing, the family said.
“This progress allows him to guide his horse a little alone, at the horse-assisted therapy with adapted reins.”
They said the youngster is having to work a lot harder than the other children in his class at school to keep up with lessons, but is continuing to “progress” and “learn new concepts”.
They added: “His memory has greatly improved. He is now able to remember events that happened to him that same day or to talk spontaneously about a subject mentioned an hour previously.
“This remains very fragmentary compared to normal, but it is enormous progress which really helps our daily life.”
“We continue to be proud of our son’s efforts and his progress. We are in awe of his courage.
“As always, a huge thank you to all of you for following and supporting us throughout our son’s healing journey. We stay on course and don’t give up.”
Autistic teenager Bravery was in supported accommodation at the time of the attack but allowed out unsupervised.
He intended to select and kill someone, a court was later told.
Bravery, who was 17 at the time, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and was jailed in 2020 for 15 years.
London nurse Vicky Diplacto, whose brother was paralysed after an accident overseas, set up the GoFundMe appeal to help.
