PRINCE GEORGE, Va. — A 2-year-old boy is recovering after he was accidentally run over by a riding lawnmower in Prince George County on Friday.
Cohen Johnson was med-flighted to the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU following the accident in his father's yard. Over the weekend, he underwent two surgeries, including the amputation of his right foot just above the ankle.
Brittney Walls, Cohen's mother, said her husband, Kenny Johnson, was mowing the lawn while their four children played nearby. Cohen suddenly ran up behind the mower while it was in reverse.
"I was here and my husband called me or texted me, '911 — stop what you’re doing and answer your phone,' and I answered, and you could tell he was hysterical and he said, 'I’ve run over Cohen,' and I’m like, 'What? What do you mean?'" Walls said.
Their daughter, 9-year-old Lakin Walls, witnessed the accident.
"Of everything she had seen, I think she’s the one who screamed, 'Daddy his leg, his leg,'" Walls said.
Lakin said, "I remember hearing, 'Oh Cohen, oh Cohen, it’s OK,' and my dad just screamed."
Johnson, a law enforcement officer, immediately jumped into action by applying a tourniquet and starting first aid.
"He’s been a law enforcement officer for a long time, so he has experience. He saved his life," Walls said.
Walls, a former emergency room nurse, said she did not leave her son's side at the hospital.
"There was probably 45 people in the hospital room, and they let me stay there the whole time, and I told them I want to be right there," Walls said. "I was rubbing his head and kissing him telling him I loved him, mommy and daddy are there."
By Monday, Cohen was sitting up and playing with his siblings.
"I was kind of excited, but also worried about him," Lakin said.
"Our 3-year-old said that he could make his brother a new foot with Play-Doh, which was really sweet," Walls said.
Cohen faces a long road to recovery, including future surgeries and physical therapy, but his parents know he is a fighter.
"He is our trooper. A year ago, he knocked his front tooth out, and he’s just a resilient kid and there’s nothing that will hold him back. I know he’ll recover from this, and I think he’ll do anything that a child without a missing limb could do," Walls said. "Again, I’m a blessed mom, and he’s alive, so everything else — I’ll be there every step of the way."
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family: gofundme.com/f/help-2yearold-cohen-heal-after-devastating-accident
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