Triumphant return: Family, friends welcome home 12-year-old Bozeman boy hit while bicycling

Approximately 75 Bozeman Baseball teammates, family members and friends crowded an otherwise empty upstairs arrival area at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport on Wednesday, welcoming 12-year-old Elliott McCann back from a Salt Lake City trauma unit.

Children held signs. Parents poised with cellphones in-hand ready.

McCann exited the airport’s secure area in a wheelchair, a bandage wrapped around his head.

Wednesday was a celebration. The preceding days were darker for McCann and those loving him.

He was fighting for his life in the Utah intensive care unit after a medical airlift. His mother, Desiree McCann, found him on the ground in a pool of blood after a vehicle hit him bicycling near the intersection of Hunter’s Way and Babcock Street on Sunday.

“Recovery now,” she said between sobs of relief. “It was a miracle. Primary Children’s Hospital knew exactly what to do.”

McCann and coach Jared Kaplan, who started a GoFundMe and had raised $49,607 of a $75,000 goal for medical expenses as of the homecoming, are eager to see McCann play baseball with his friends again.

“It wasn’t even a thought,” Kaplan said of the fundraiser. “I just saw a need and decided to do it — get it done and make sure Elliott is taken care of. I hope someone would do the same thing for us if they were in this situation.”

Kaplan coached McCann for only a few practices before he was hit on his bicycle. His heart sank when he learned of the early evening accident.

“Elliott’s mom called me saying ‘Elliott wants you here’,” Kaplan said. “It was not even a question. We dropped everything. I took my son. We went to the hospital and stayed by his bedside for hours until Elliott was life-flighted to Utah at 1 a.m.”

Kaplan didn’t expect McCann to be out of hospital until the end of the week. When the collision occurred, McCann was dragged between the vehicle and the pavement, sustaining five broken ribs, a broken collarbone, pulmonary contusions, lacerations, road-rash on his head, and trauma to his lung that required ICU monitoring.

“It is really nice to have Elliott back,” said teammate Reece Lowry, who witnessed the incident. “I was very scared when he got hit. I didn’t know what was going to happen.”

“I was sad,” friend Cap Milhoan said. “I was very surprised. I felt bad because Elliott (just) had his cast cut off from breaking his arm days earlier.”

McCann wouldn’t shed tears from the pain throughout the ordeal. He remained hard-set on proving to his nurse he could get up, walk and use the restroom solo, per the GoFundMe posting.

McCann didn’t say much during the welcome back but did confirm to the Chronicle he has plenty of fight remaining. He flashed appreciative smiles from his wheelchair and shared quiet words with a few baseball buddies before receiving a first-responder escort home.