Family remains hopeful as 12-year-old boy continues recovery months after baseball injury
Taylor remains on ventilator, moved from hospital to short-term care facility
MAPLE SHADE, N.J. -- Nearly four months after 12-year-old Xavier Taylor was critically injured when he was struck by a baseball, his family says they remain hopeful as he continues to make progress in his recovery.
Taylor had just finished warming up before a championship game on May 26 when the accident occurred. His father, Gregory Taylor, said his son has shown signs of improvement since the injury.
"He has gained weight. When we look at Xave every day, we see Xavier. We don't see that frail boy from May and early June," Gregory Taylor told ABC Philadelphia affiliate WPVI on Friday.
Taylor described the circumstances surrounding his son's injury.
"His heartbeat was up, his blood was flowing enough that his heart was contracting and reacting that it rendered him unconscious," he said.
According to Gregory Taylor, the boy remains on a ventilator but has been moved from the hospital to a short-term care facility.
"He's off all medication on a regular basis other than just getting some necessary nutrients and nutrition," Gregory Taylor said. "He's regulating his own body temperature. He's off the extra electrolyte fluids because his lab work is coming back and it's beautiful."
Support for the Taylor family has come from across the community since the accident. More than $100,000 has been raised for the family, and signs supporting Taylor can be seen throughout town. In June, the Ben Franklin Bridge and Camden City Hall were lit up in blue in his honor.
Despite the long recovery process, Gregory Taylor said the family remains confident Taylor will wake up and has often wondered what he might say.
"I honestly think one of the first things he's going to say is, 'What did I miss?' And it's going to be - how about we show you what you've done," he said.
