PORTLAND, Ore ... The mere fact that Harry Benenson is playing with toys is remarkable when you consider the ordeal he went through on July 19.
"It was pretty terrible," said Jessie Benenson, Harry's mother. "The worse thing that's ever happened."
Jessie had Harry in one hand, daughter Rosemary in the other. They were standing near the corner of SE 72nd and Flavel when they were hit by an out of control car.
"It was so sudden I didn't have time to pull them back," said Jessie. "I felt the impact and Harry's hand being wrenched from mine."
Surprisingly Jessie was uninjured and Rosemary escaped with a minor sprain. Harry was not so lucky.
"He was bleeding from the head," said Jessie. "I thought he was dead."
Harry had suffered a traumatic brain injury. He would be in the ICU for days. Doctors were prepping Jessie and her husband for the unthinkable.
"I was afraid," said Jessie.
But that all changed when Harry started to bounce back. He is not completely healed, but he is back to doing what boys do.
"I came so close to that changing forever and I'm so full of gratitude I get to have it again," said Jessie.
Friends of the Benensons and complete strangers have been making donations to help with Harry's medical expenses. A fundraiser is scheduled for August 25 at Lucky Lab in NW Portland. It will run from 1pm to 8pm.
