CEDAR CITY — Six-year-old Robby Brown is recovering in the hospital after taking a 20-foot fall from a ski lift in Brian Head Wednesday afternoon and sustaining multiple injuries.

The family was enjoying a short vacation to the mountain town. Several of their children were taking private lessons at the Brian Head Ski Resort, Natalie Brown told Cedar City News. The family visits the resort regularly and has ski passes.

Robby has been skiing for several years and Tuesday was taking advanced lessons.

“He’s a very good skier,” she said, adding that Robby spent all day on the slopes.

He was riding the Navajo Express Chair Lift when he fell 20 feet into the snowpack, Brian Head deputy marshal Jared Burton told Cedar City News, adding that the cause of the incident was unclear.

Robby’s twin brother, Joey Brown, and older sister, Lucy Brown, were also on the lift, and the children were under the ski instructor’s care, Natalie Brown said.

Robby’s father, Andy Brown, and older brother, Owen Brown, were skiing on the Black Diamond run, Natalie Brown said.

The employee “pulled the bar up a little too soon,” she said, and the boy’s hands were on the bar. So, when it was raised, he slid out and fell.

He hit his head, losing his helmet in the process, Natalie Brown said. However, she was unsure if his helmet had come off because it wasn’t adjusted correctly or due to the impact’s force.

Responders found the helmet away from where Robby landed, she added.

The incident was “traumatic” for his siblings who were at the scene, as he was “screaming uncontrollably on the ground,” Natalie Brown said. When Robby was able to speak, he told her he “hit his face on the snow and rocks.”

“We thought for sure his back was broken,” she said. “He was so hysterical – we had never seen him like that. He didn’t calm down until the medic started morphine on him.”

Robby sustained multiple injuries in the fall, including a concussion and lung embolism. He was airlifted from the scene to St. George Regional Hospital, where he was treated by the pediatric unit and trauma team, his mother said.

“He was protected,” she said. “I pray over my kids every day and I just feel like we are so blessed and so lucky that he is alive.”

Due to the high altitude at Brian Head, Natalie and Andy Brown were unable to ride with Robby in the helicopter, she said. Instead, they followed in their car.

They were nervous about him arriving without a family member that could advocate for him. Two of their friends who live in the area and work in medicine went to the hospital in their stead and sent them updates, she said.

The trauma team acted “really quickly,” Natalie Brown said, adding that medical professionals didn’t find any broken bones after the initial CT scan. He was given multiple medications for pain and nausea.

“If he doesn’t have that, he’s basically like – he’s in so much pain that he’s not really even very conscious,” she said.

Robby’s “making progress,” and his neck brace was removed as his doctors are no longer concerned about his neck being broken, Natalie Brown said. He’s awaiting an MRI and is on oxygen. His doctors have been lowering the amount of oxygen he’s receiving, and he’s “been doing really well.”

“So that is amazing,” she said.

Natalie Brown said that while Robby’s siblings likely won’t feel “really good” until the boy is home from the hospital, they have been keeping themselves busy making him cards with their grandmother. And his older brother, Owen, read to him during a visit.

“We’re trying to talk with them and get them to express how they’re feeling,” she said.

As his mother, Natalie Brown said she keeps replaying the situation in her head. And, when she returned home Wednesday night, she saw the Christmas presents she’d purchased for Robby and Joey – wrapped with different paper to tell them apart.

“Oh my God, ” she said. “If there’s a chance he’s not going to – it’s just insane how things can change in just a second. So fast … Your mind is all over the place and you got to be strong for your kids, and you got to be strong for your child that’s injured, and it’s really hard.

“But we’re so grateful and thankful because his living is like our Christmas miracle.”

While the family isn’t in need of help from the community right now, Natalie Brown said those interested could support their business, Bone Appetit, a natural pet food store in Washington City and Santa Clara. Additionally, she hopes customers will show her employees patience and kindness.

“Our employees – it’s already a really busy time for them and they just got more instantly added to their plate,” she said.

One of the managers stepped up to handle their sales promotion and social media, and has been “great” with their customers, Natalie Brown said. But messages she’s received from customers have been a source of stress because while she needs to be with her family, she doesn’t want shoppers to get angry if they don’t receive a quick response.

“This is our busiest time of year and this week’s sales help make or break us for the whole year,” she said.

Additionally, Natalie Brown said it was “sad” to read comments on original news reports of Robby’s fall that questioned their parenting skills “when they do not know the whole story.”

“Our family is a mess right now and so shaken,” she said.

But while some reports said Robby was accompanied by his parents on the chairlift, Natalie Brown said he was actually with the Brian Head Ski Resort employee who was giving him private ski lessons.

The family was surprised to learn that the instructor was a high school student and felt that the resort had not followed its protocols, Natalie Brown said, adding that she is “very frustrated with Brian Head right now.”

Cedar City News requested comments from Brian Head Ski Resort and received a response from its marketing manager Amber Palmer, who quoted the resort’s general manager, Marilyn Butler, in an email.

“Brian Head Resort is working on investigating yesterday’s incident involving a minor who fell from the Navajo Express lift at approximately 3:00 p.m.,” the email read. “Our thoughts are with the child and family during this time. Patrol was quick to respond and care was transferred to Gold Cross Ambulance who then transferred care to Mercy Air.”

Updated, Dec. 23, noon, to include Butler’s statement.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.