Rodeo star’s 3-year-old son passes away two weeks after river accident
Levi Wright, the three-year-old son of rodeo star Spencer Wright, tragically passed away after a heroic fight for his life. The little boy suffered a traumatic brain injury on May 21 after a near-drowning accident.
The accident happened when Levi drove his toy tractor into a river near the family’s home. Local law enforcement found him unconscious about a mile downstream. Rushed to a hospital in Salt Lake City, Levi’s initial prognosis was grim; he was declared brain dead.
Against all odds, Levi began showing signs of improvement. His mother, Kallie Wright, shared her hope and excitement on Facebook, saying, “LEVI WOKE UP! I am shook, we don’t know much but the doctor said it was okay for me to get excited about that and I AM! My baby is so tough!”
Sadly, the results of an MRI the next day were not promising. Kallie wrote, “We’re shattered but it is just images that suggest a certain quality of life. Our real teller of all will be what Levi does over the course of a few days.”
As Levi fought for his life, his family and friends asked for prayers. Despite the initial signs of hope, Levi’s condition worsened. On June 2, Kallie shared the heartbreaking news. “After several sleepless nights, lots of research, multiple conversations with the world’s best neurologists & millions of prayers we are here in the face of our biggest fear,” she wrote. “Levi showed us just enough to buy us time for all of this. We prayed those things were him defying odds & proving to us that he wanted to stay here but we see now he wanted to give us time to find peace with letting him go.”
The Wright family made the difficult decision to take Levi off life support. On June 3, family friend Mindy Sue Clark confirmed Levi’s passing on Facebook, expressing the pain and sorrow of the last two weeks.
“I cannot even begin to explain how hard the last two weeks have been. From the moment my phone rang the night of his accident, to last night receiving the message that he had to go. I don’t want to focus on the bad or sad, even though it feels like someone ripped my heart out and squeezed it right in front of me. I want to focus on the many miracles we all got to bear witness to in those 12 days.”
Levi Wright, described as “the most perfect three-year-old there ever was,” brought light to a world that often seems dark. His short life united people and inspired many. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Wright family during this incredibly difficult time.
