For the first time in several days, a nine-month-old boy who was attacked in a park in Brisbane, Australia, smiled and even gave a nurse a high-five.
He was attacked by an unknown man who poured hot coffee on him.
The incident, which police believe was a deliberate attack, happened on Tuesday.
Taken a few minutes earlier, the boy can be seen sitting on a picnic blanket and playing with a toy car as the temperature in the city rose.
His mother took him to Hanlon Park in the southern part of Brisbane to meet a friend. They had never been there before.
The little boy started to walk on his own that morning, which thrilled his mother.
The child had been sick for a couple of weeks, and his mother said that it was nice to see him get around on his own.
She was also excited to take him to the park to show him to his friends.
The incident occurred right after the mother had sat down. The man, who was around 30 to 40 years old, poured hot coffee over the child before running away.
The mother’s friend tried to chase after the attacker, but he was unable to catch up to him.
A nearby CCTV camera captured the man running away. It has also been reported that he changed his clothes outside a church in Annerley.
It’s believed that the child used a rideshare car to travel to Caxton Street near Suncorp Stadium.
While waiting for the bus, an individual approached the child and asked if he needed to call emergency services.
He was immediately taken to the hospital. The boy’s body had remained bandaged for several days as he underwent surgery.
His family saw the first signs of recovery on Saturday morning, as photos of the child grinning into the camera showed him in a hospital bed.
According to his mother, the first few days were very difficult, but he started to perk up and started laughing this morning.
The child started to smile and even gave his mother high-fives.
He also started to behave normally, even though he had been very scared during the first few days following the incident.
The child will be going through another operation on Tuesday.
His doctors have informed his mother that he will most likely need skin grafts on his chest and neck.