20-Month-Old Chaska Boy Recovering From 3-Story Fall
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Two seconds is all it took for one Twin Cities family to have the scare of their life.
Three weeks ago, 20-month-old Nathan Stoll fell three stories from his apartment window to the cement sidewalk below.
He's still recovering, and his parents are sharing his story with the hope of keeping other children safe.
As Nathan plays in his Chaska apartment, you wouldn't know that just days ago, he was lying in a hospital bed.
"He is a very big miracle," said Krista Stoll, Nathan's mom.
He survived a fall of more than 20 feet from an apartment window.
"I never wanted our windows open just for this reason," said Brian Stoll, Nathan's dad. "He did what all kids do. He went to a window, he was curious."
But on Aug. 14, a broken air conditioner forced Brian to open the windows.
As his two sons, Nathan and Caleb, played on the living room floor, Brian went to the nearby kitchen to make a snack for the boys.
"All the sudden, I hear Caleb say, 'Dad, Nathan fell,'" he said.
Brian rushed out to his son, who was lying lifeless on the sidewalk. He immediately called for help.
"He wasn't breathing," he said. "He was very pale, his lips were purple."
At the hospital, Nathan was treated for a skull fracture and a concussion, as well as bumps and bruises. He was able to go home after four days.
"We had doctors, nurses and patients talking about him because he had such minor injuries," Krista said. "Technically, it's a three-story fall."
Nathan's accident is not rare in Minnesota. The latest data from the Minnesota Department of Health shows in 2012, 41 children under the age of 10 were severely injured after falling out of a window. One fall was fatal.
Nationwide, that number jumps to 4,700 for severe injury falls under the age of 14.
For the Stoll family, the solution was moving furniture away from the window, securing the window screen and eliminating all risks.
"If you live in an apartment that's higher up than first floor, do not open your windows," Krista said.
Nathan's eye sight is his lasting injury. And for his parents, the view from their front window will never look the same.
"It's pretty hard every time I look at that window, you know … trying not to remember what happened that day," Brian said.
A 2007 state law requires all new apartment buildings to have fall-prevention devices on windows.
Safety experts also recommend the installation of window guards or stops in homes with small children, which prevent a window from opening more than four inches.
If you'd like to help with Nathan's medical bills, you can donate to the "Nathan Jo Stoll Benefit Fund" at any Klein Bank.
