‘It’s a miracle.’ 4-year-old boy survives after six-story fall in North Miami

A 4-year-old boy is recovering after falling from a sixth-floor window at a North Miami apartment building.

The fall happened around 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, at an eight-story building near Northeast 146th Street and 18th Avenue. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue transported the child to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition.

The boy, identified by his mother as Will, landed on the grass outside the building. He suffered a broken femur, lung damage and other injuries.

“Right now, I thank God everything is OK,” his mother, Edna Ceno Milfort, said. “Yesterday, he had surgery on his leg. But he will be in a full cast from top to bottom and is just lying on his back. He talks. He plays. The biggest concern is the leg.”

Milfort said doctors might need to place screws in his leg, and he is not expected to walk or sit up for at least two months.

“He remembers everything,” she said. “He says he wants to go home. He wants to stand and walk.”

Milfort said she has remained by her son’s side since the fall.

“That is a miracle. That is a miracle of God,” she said. “I thank God. That is all I say now. He is back with me.”

She said she does not know exactly how the fall happened, noting her son was with other family members at the time. The window has since been covered with plywood.

“The window was not open,” Milfort said. “It was closed, but it does slide up. I don’t know how he fell, as I was not there. I was down in my car. You know how kids are, you turn around, and they just move.”

North Miami police said they are investigating but do not suspect foul play.

Milfort, a single mother of three, said the incident has also created financial strain as she remains at the hospital with her son.

“Right now, I need help because I am not able to work,” she said. “I may not be able to pay rent because I need to stay with my son, and I don’t think my job will pay me to be out so long.”

She said her son might soon be moved from the intensive-care unit to a private room.

This report was produced by Miami Herald news partner CBS News Miami.