PLEASANT VIEW, Utah — A family in Weber County never thought they would get to see the day their little boy would be back at a hospital for a happy reason. But on Tuesday, along with the people who saved him, they got to celebrate 7-year-old Elliot Ellis’ recovery in a special way.
The day after Christmas last year, a car hit Elliot, who was six years old at the time, outside his home in Pleasant View. That was the first time Diego Cruz with North View Fire District met little Elliot.
“Just seeing a little child underneath there in that condition, there was no question at that point, especially after we pulled him out, like we’re not just going to leave him,” said Cruz, who was the lead paramedic on that incident.
“It was the worst day of my life,” said Elliot’s mom, Lyndsey Ellis.
Elliot was transported to Ogden Regional Medical Center.
“We definitely left the ER that day not super hopeful of the outcome. We were prepared to hear some bad news, but it was just miracle after miracle,” Cruz told Lyndsey. “I’m really glad that he’s here now, and he’s just a normal kid.”
A kid who gets to have his whole life ahead of him — thanks to the paramedics and hospital staff who saved him. They got to celebrate his miraculous recovery on Tuesday and meet the little boy who has been on their minds for six months.
Cruz’s team visited Elliot in the hospital a few days after the accident and even showed him around the fire station after he recovered.
Lyndsey said Elliot does not have any brain damage. He did sustain some fractures, bruised lungs and a few gashes, but is still the beacon of joy he always was.
“He is unchanged and its absolutely amazing,” she said, beaming about her son. “He’s the most caring kid I know. When I’m having a bad day, Elliot’s the very first one to come find me and give me hug and just tell me he loves me.”
But there’s another hero in this story: Elliot’s older brother, Gus.
“I think he honestly had probably the most important role, getting us dispatched. There was no way we would have been able to help Elliot if we hadn’t been there,” Cruz said.
A few minutes after they went outside to play, Lyndsey said she heard Gus scream and knew something was terribly wrong.
“I turned to Gus and I said, ‘Where’s Elliot?’ and he said, ‘She hit him,’ and I got down on my hands and knees and he was in the wheel well of her car,” Lyndsey described.
North View Fire District presented Gus with a lifesaving award for being the reason first responders got there so quickly. They also opened “My-529” college savings accounts, made deposits for the boys, and gifted them a visit to the planetarium. They gave the boys adventures and set them up for their bright future, and they are so thankful Elliot gets to have one.
“We took Elliot to Lagoon the other day, and we were spinning around on the musical express and we were just laughing and laughing and laughing, and in those moments it’s really hard not to think that we almost didn’t get that,” Lyndsey said. “It’s beyond easy to be so very grateful for them.”
The first responders watched what was a devastating call turn into a beautiful, lifelong relationship.
“I don’t think there’s anything greater in this career," Cruz said. "We all choose to do this job, and being able to experience something like this, I’ll cherish it for the rest of my life."
