Easton Oliverson of Utah’s Snow Canyon Little League suffered a fractured skull after falling from a bunk bed in the players’ dormitory in Williamsport, Pennsylvania early Monday morning, his team told CNN. He is being treated at Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville, Pennsylvania, according to a hospital spokesperson.
An additional post Wednesday on Easton’s Instagram also provided updates on the Little Leaguer.
The post also says Easton asked for water on Wednesday morning, which his doctors said was good because it usually takes about a week or two before patients who have had a breathing tube removed want to eat or drink.
“While Easton is making HUGE progress, he still has a very long way to go,” the post read.
Easton was airlifted to the local children’s hospital, where he underwent surgery to stop the bleeding and stabilize him, according to his Instagram account. He was then plunged into an artificial coma, his team said.
Easton’s father, Jace, who is an assistant coach for his son’s team, said in a statement: “There was a lot of blood in his brain and a lot of pressure was being caused. He had what was called an epidural hematoma. He fractured his skull and in the meantime punctured an artery outside the brain which caused the bleeding.”
The Little League World Series released a statement to CNN on Wednesday saying that bunk beds in player dorms did not have safety rails and have since been removed from dorms.
“Since 1992, Little League has used institutional-style bunk beds to provide as much space as possible for players to enjoy their time in the dorms. Although these beds do not have guardrails, Little League n ‘is aware of any serious injuries that occurred during this time period,” read the league’s statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, Little League has made the decision to remove all bunk beds from the dorms and arrange each bed frame individually on the floor.”
The league said it would use all available resources to “support the player, his family, his coaches and his teammates, as we go through this unfortunate situation.”
Easton’s Snow Canyon Little League team is scheduled to play its first game of the Little League World Series on Friday afternoon. Snow Canyon is the first team from Utah to qualify for the series in the tournament’s 75-year history.
CNN’s Jennifer Henderson contributed to this report.
