Boy, 4, had so many stitches that his doctors lost count

A BOY who had so many stitches in his face that doctors "gave up counting" is recovering after being run over by a 4x4 truck.

Thomas-Jack Crawford - who is known as TJ - suffered horrific facial injuries when the vehicle knocked him off his scooter while reversing and drove over him.

However, the four-year-old - who had already shown his fighting qualities after being born three months prematurely, weighing only 2lb - has surprised doctors by his courage and the speed of his recovery.

TJ was hit by a reversing Nissan truck while on a day out in Bridge of Don, Aberdeen, with his mother Kimmy and one-year-old sister Sophie on 20 July.

Ms Crawford said: "I remember screaming and hitting the truck and looking under it.

"TJ's face was against the ground and his bottom was up against the underneath of the truck.

"I was yelling for someone to call an ambulance. There was blood everywhere."

She said a builder from a site nearby rushed to help after the accident, and a woman shouted that she was a nurse.

"The builder got TJ out and gave him to me.

"The surgeon later said that he had needed so many stitches that he had stopped counting them after he got to his eye.

"The most amazing thing is with all the injuries he did not break so much as a nail or a bone. There were tyre marks up his back where the 4x4 went over him."

His mother praised the youngster's bravery in the face of immense pain. She said: "I am so proud of him for getting through this."

No action was ever taken against the driver of the 4x4, and the family have said they believe it was an accident and do not blame the motorist.

Ms Crawford thanked members of the public who had expressed concern since the accident and medical staff and others who rushed to the scene to help him.

She especially wanted to contact the nurse and the builder who rushed to TJ's aid after the incident.

An ambulance took TJ to Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital.

Because of the toll his early birth had taken on his veins, doctors struggled for 30 minutes to administer pain relief intravenously.

TJ spent two days in the high-dependency unit, having had plastic surgery. He was transferred for a further two days to a general surgical ward so he could be with other children.

Ms Crawford said his quick recovery and cheery attitude had stunned doctors.

"I met one of the surgeons in the corridor and he asked me how TJ was doing," she said.

"I said he should see for himself. TJ was standing up and went over to the doctor, shook his hand and said thank you for helping him.

"He was amazing. The whole time he was in high-dependency, all he wanted to do was to play and go sliding along the corridor."

Ms Crawford said TJ was now recovering at home where she was watching his progress carefully.

"It really is a miracle he is still alive. Someone up there was watching over him."