Therapy starts for Minnesota boy injured in sailboat accident

• Isaiah Risland

Isaiah Risland

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MINNEAPOLIS — Twice-a-day therapy is planned for an 8-year-old boy injured in a sailboat accident earlier this month.

Isaiah Risland of Leonard, Minn., is undergoing physical, speech and

occupational therapy, his aunts said.

“Isaiah is getting stronger every day,” wrote Tia Wallin, an aunt, in an entry Monday for Isaiah’s CaringBridge journal. “The doctor said (Monday) morning that his kidney, liver and pancreas are all working very well and function very closely to the normal levels.”

The different types of therapy are designed to help Isaiah regain his pre-

accident functions.

Physical therapy focuses on large motor skills, and Isaiah performed leg and foot stretches and stood up with assistance, Wallin said.

In contrast, occupational therapy focuses on fine motor skills like brushing his teeth and assembling a wood puzzle, she said.

This past weekend, Isaiah began reciting the alphabet, counting to 20 and coloring.

“He was able to identify all of his letters, numbers, and colors on his own,” Wallin wrote in an entry Sunday. “His fine motor skills are still a little rusty so it is difficult to hold onto things and at times he would get frustrated but he would keep

trying… He is a very determined and it made me very proud to see him working so hard to try new things on his own.”

The previous day, aunt Sara Staley wrote Isaiah began therapy as part of his recovery.

Isaiah suffered life-threatening injuries in an April 6 sailboat accident. He is being treated at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis for hypothermia-related injuries.

His younger brothers, 6-year-old Zechariah and 2-year-old Jacob, died in the accident. Their funeral was last week in Clearbrook, Minn.

Previously, Clearwater County Sheriff Mike Erickson ruled out criminal charges.

Dan Risland and his three boys were sailing on Clearwater Lake when the boat sank. The father swam to shore to summon help after being unable to get the boys to land.

The boys were wearing life jackets, but spent about an hour in 40-degree water until first responders could reach them. Zechariah and Jacob died, apparently from hypothermia, while emergency crews revived Isaiah, who was airlifted to Minneapolis.

The Sheriff’s Office said it hopes to use sonar equipment to locate the 10-foot fiberglass sailboat. Once the water warms, divers probably will be used to hoist the boat out of the water.

There had been more than 49,000 page views on Isaiah’s CaringBridge page as of Monday.

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