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Little League World Series player undergoes emergency surgery after bunk bed fall

Easton Oliverson, a pitcher and outfielder for Utah's Snow Canyon Little League team, was supposed to play with his team in Game 1 of the Little League World Series on Friday. But due to a severe head injury, he won't be able to.

Oliverson, 12, fell off the top of a bunk bed early on Monday morning, just hours after he and the Snow Canyon team arrived at their dorm in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Oliverson sustained a serious head injury from the fall, and was airlifted to a children's hospital in a different part of the state for emergency surgery.

“He went through pretty traumatic surgery to get to where he’s at, but the doctors are all really positive,” Spencer Beck, Oliverson’s uncle, told the Salt Lake Tribune. “All of the steps moving forward have been good so far.”

Beck said that Easton is still asleep as doctors wait for the swelling in his brain to go down. He also fractured his skull and cheek in the fall.

Despite the injury and the surgery, Oliverson is lucky. One of his teammates heard him fall and was able to alert adults, who acted quickly. Things could have turned out much differently.

“Had that other player not been wakened by him falling, he may not have made it,” Beck said.

Snow Canyon is the first team from Utah to make it to the Little League World Series. Despite their emotions about their teammate's accident, Snow Canyon is still prepping for the series, and held practice on Monday because they believed that what Easton would want.

Easton's father, Jace Oliverson, is an assistant coach with Snow Canyon. He told a local Utah news station on Tuesday that his son's condition has improved, and he was able to give his teammates a thumbs up on a recent video call.

Little League player Easton Oliverson fell from his dorm bunk bead, sustaining a head injury that required emergency surgery. His team, Snow Canyon, is the first team from Utah to make it to the Little League World Series. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Little League player Easton Oliverson fell from his dorm bunk bead, sustaining a head injury that required emergency surgery. His team, Snow Canyon, is the first team from Utah to make it to the Little League World Series. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)