Jacksonville boy recovers after freak accident

5-year-old suffered broken bones, severed fingers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Pastor Steve Bowersox said his 5-year-old son is recovering at a hospital after his arm was caught in a cable of a motorized door at Craig Airfield on Friday.

The accident broke both of Ben's arms and severed his fingers. Since being rushed to Duke University Hospital, Ben has undergone dozens of hours of surgeries.

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"Everybody has been amazed at how tough he has been, and resilient and kind and sweet," said Bowersox. "Man, it makes me want to be a better dad."

Dr. Scott Hollenbeck described the delicacy and the challenge of putting Ben's hands and fingers back together.

"The tissues have been actually pulled off and it makes it very difficult to put back on," said Hollenbeck. "The other thing is the size of the blood vessels. We're talking about blood vessels in a 5-year-old that are less than a millimeter in size."

IMAGES: Ben Bowersox recovers at hospital

After two hour visits to the hyperbaric chamber twice a day, the Bowersox' got some positive news Tuesday. Not only was Ben released from intensive care, but a surgery scheduled for Wednesday was canceled.

"He's progressing along. The right hand appears to be what the doctors are calling "completely viable," in other words they think it will go back to what it was," said Bowersox. "He's been telling the nurses his three favorite jokes, 'Why is 6 afraid of 7? Because 7,8,9,' and you know, he's just telling jokes, it's just cute."

Bowersox is the worship pastor at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville and told Channel 4 the love and support he's received from the church community has been outstanding and overwhelming.

Ben will have to spend several more weeks in North Carolina as he recovers.