An Australian toddler is recovering after a near-death car accident that caused his head to detach from his neck.
According to 7 News Melbourne, doctors performed a “miracle surgery” on 16-month-old Jaxon Taylor. Last month, the toddler was riding in the car with his mom, Rylea Taylor, and his 9-year-old sister, Shane, when they collided with another vehicle driven by an 18-year-old man, driving at least 70 mph.
“The second I pulled him out, I knew that his neck was broken,” Taylor told 7 News.
The crash caused an internal decapitation, in which Jaxon’s head became removed from his neck. He was airlifted to a hospital in Brisbane, Queensland, which is on the eastern coast of Australia. Surgeons began a six-hour procedure to save Jackson’s life.
“A lot of children wouldn’t survive that injury in the first place and if they did and they were resuscitated they may never move or breathe again,” said Doctor Geoff Askin, who led the surgery.
Dr. Askin, known as the Australian “godfather of spinal surgery,” said it’s the worst surgery of its kind that he has seen. The surgery involved attaching a halo device to Jaxon’s skull, which kept him completely still while reattaching his vertebrae using a tiny piece of wire. He then took a piece of the child’s rib to graft the two vertebrae together.
“It is a miracle,” said Rylea Taylor. Her husband couldn’t agree more.
“We’re very, very thankful,” Andrew Taylor told 7 News Melbourne.
Jaxon is doing great and will continue to recover at home. Doctors said he has to wear the halo for a total of 8 weeks following the surgery to hold everything in place. His sister suffered abdominal injuries, according to 7 Melbourne News.
Taylor is now on a mission to make sure what happened to her family doesn’t happen to other families. She has created a petition on change.org and plans to send it to the National Road Transport Commission in hopes of seeing harsher punishments for reckless drivers Australia wide. She said police told her the laws for reckless driving hold different punishments from state-to-state and it’s unlikely the boys will receive anything more than a suspended driving sentence and a fine.
If you would like to sign Taylor's petition, click here.
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FOXNews.com contributed to this article.