A 16-month-old toddler was recently given a second chance at life after his head was reattached to his body in what has been dubbed a “miracle surgery.” Jaxon Taylor had a near death experience after a horrendous car accident a little over two weeks ago. Fortunately, reports have shown that Jaxon is now on the mend.

Jaxon Taylor had been traveling with his mom, Rylea, and 9-year-old sister, Shayne, when their car was involved in a head on collision with a vehicle driven by a teenager. The Sun reported the 18-year-old driver of the other vehicle was driving at a speed of about 70 mph. The airbags protected the mother but Jaxon’s sister received abdominal injuries and things were much worse for the baby. In a tearful interview, Rylea said she knew something was terribly wrong the moment she was able to reach her son.

“The second that I pulled him out I knew, I knew that his neck was broken.”

Medics had to airlift the toddler from the crash site in New South Wales, once the severity of his injuries were assessed. Jaxon was immediately flown to a hospital in Brisbane, Queensland on the eastern coast of Australia. X-rays revealed that the force of the crash was so tremendous that it had brutally pulled Jaxon’s head from his neck internally and was officially the worse injury of its kind that any of his doctors had ever seen. It took a team of doctors and a six hour “miracle” surgery to save young Jaxon’s life.

Jaxon’s spinal cord while damaged, had survived. The doctors also called that element a miracle. Fortunately, Jaxon was placed in the care of a doctor referred to as Australia’s “godfather of spinal surgery,” who led the operation. Dr Geoff Askin and his team completed a procedure where they first had to attach a halo brace to the young toddler’s skull and completely immobilized his head, neck and shoulders. They then had to ensure he was completely still as the rest of the surgery involved reattaching Jaxon’s vertebrae with a tiny sliver of wire and then using a piece of his rib to graft the two vertebrae together.

Young Jaxon was released to his family some time after the surgery but had to keep wearing the brace in order to give his body the time needed to heal from the strain of the injury.

The halo brace features a metal ring that had been secured to young Jaxon’s head during the surgery. Metal pins were used. The ring was then hooked up to four bars that were attached to a tiny body vest on the toddler.

It is the most rigid of all neck braces and has to be worn for about eight weeks, after which Jaxon will return to the hospital to get it removed.

Fox News wrote on the miraculous surgery and Dr. Askin himself pointed out the great luck that Jaxon had when he was interviewed by 7 News Melbourne.

“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.”

Jaxon’s father, Andrew, is forever thankful to the doctors for the miracle and fixing up his two “broken” children. Both Rylea and Andrew are calling the toddler’s survival and the surgery itself a miracle and refer to the brace as Jaxon’s “halo,” savoring the smiles and laughs of the son they came so close to losing.

Dr. Askin gave this family a second chance at a future and he, too, marvels at the miracle that allowed Jaxon to survive his grave spinal injury.

[Photo Courtesy of 7 News]