Glen Ellyn boy won't need surgery after being hit by a baseball
Griffin Cox may need some new video games to keep him busy this summer, but he won't need brain surgery.
Doctors gave the Glen Ellyn boy the all-clear Wednesday morning and said, "Come back in September," according to Larry Cox, Griffin's father.
That's welcome news indeed.
There was a very real possibility the 9-year-old boy was facing brain surgery after getting hit in the head by a line drive before a White Sox game June 4.
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Griffin was sitting in the front row with his Little League teammates during batting practice when an errant baseball caught him just above the right temple.
Though he suffered few effects until four days later, the boy actually had multiple skull fractures. That fact surfaced after his next Little League game when he started vomiting and a large lump appeared on his head -- opposite the point of impact.
On Wednesday, doctors relayed to Griffin's parents results of tests taken from fluid inside the lump: all blood, no spinal fluid.
Had the injury caused the membrane beneath his skull to tear and cause damage, Griffin would have leaked spinal fluid, Cox said.
That means the little boy can now just wait for his injuries to heal, and they won't need surgical intervention.
Of course, Griffin's activities still are restricted so he doesn't make his fractures worse. That's fine by his parents. They're ecstatic he's escaped surgery, Cox said.
But Griffin will have to spend the summer without riding his horse and bicycle. He also won't be able to swim, dive and play soccer.
But he can do calm activities, including playing video games.
What about the DuPage County Fair Griffin planned to enter with his horse?
Well, he can still attend the carnival and try the games.
"No Tilt-a-Whirl," his father said definitively.