A Katherine toddler has been discharged from hospital after he was bitten by the family dog earlier in the month.
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Suffering a compound fracture at the back of his eye socket, a five-inch gash to the forehead and a fractured skull, Logan Grieve needed hours of surgery to save the his eye, multiple CT and MRI scans and 46 stitches.
But the two-year-old’s recovery is being called a miracle by neuro-surgeons as world-wide the little boy is the only child of 20 reported child dog bites to the head penetrating the skull who has come away unimpaired, alive and not requiring brain surgery.
His mother, Shannon Coutts, said her son received the best care by Katherine hospital staff, St John Ambulance paramedics and a a CareFlight aeromedical team before arriving at Royal Darwin Hospital last weekend.
“Logan has been in the care of a surgical team, opthomology team and paediatric staff in Darwin since Saturday and luckily he has been cleared of any damage inside his head and his eyes are safe and working,” she said.
Ms Coutts said her little boy was in high spirits despite his ordeal.
“He has come away with his life, a few dozen stitches and a compression fracture to the top of his eye socket. We are so lucky.”
“Our families have been the most sound foundation for us through this all, as have our friends. For that we are grateful.
“Logan is doing really well and he is surrounded by so much love and support.”
Ms Coutts, who gave birth to her second child, Logan’s baby sister Etta only eight weeks ago, said her fiancé Terry Grieve had spent every waking moment with their son - from the airlift from Katherine to Darwin, to surgery, to “every scream and tear”.
Meanwhile, the dog had “been removed and sent away with love”, Ms Coutts said.
“He was our family dog, Logan’s best mate and part of our lives for nearly ten years. All it took was mere seconds for the two of them to get mixed up and Logan was on the receiving end of a very nasty defensive snap.”
The mother-of-two said if the dog had bitten any harder she would have lost her son.
“We never thought something like this would happen to us,” Ms Coutts said.
“If you have kids and pets - be very aware at every second, regardless of how much you think you know them.”
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