Overview

• During a family trip in Mexico, an armored vehicle struck the Staubs’ minivan, leaving 2‑year‑old Oliver with broken cervical vertebrae and a severed spinal cord.
• His mother says he was declared dead at the crash site before being resuscitated and airlifted to a Mexico City hospital, then transferred to UChicago Medicine.
• Neurosurgeon Dr. Mohamad Bydon’s team decompressed the injury, rebuilt the dura, and stabilized the skull and upper spine with plates, screws, and rods, then later repositioned the spinal cord and reconstructed surrounding bones.
• Oliver suffered at least two cardiac arrests and a stroke during care, yet he later began breathing over the ventilator, showed bladder and bowel sensation, and moved fingers and toes, which clinicians say is not reported for such prolonged injuries.
• The family reports international support, including from German soccer star Toni Kroos, and says Oliver is recovering after discharge from the Chicago hospital.