An 8-year-old Leonard boy is gradually improving from injuries he sustained in a sailboat accident April 6.
Isaiah Risland remains at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, where he's showing positive signs of recovery from hypothermia.
"Isaiah is still gaining consciousness occasionally and responding to voice," wrote Sara Staley, an aunt, in the boy's online journal on the CaringBridge website.
Dan Risland and his boys - Isaiah, 6-year-old Zechariah and 2-year-old Jacob - were sailing on Clearwater Lake when it sunk. The father swam to shore to summon help after being unable to get the boys to land.
The boys were wearing life jackets, but spent about an hour in 40-degree water until first responders could reach them. Zechariah and Jacob died, apparently from hypothermia, while emergency crews revived Isaiah, who was then airlifted to the Twin Cities.
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"When he is conscious and someone speaks to him he will turn his head or eyes toward them," Staley wrote Saturday. "His oxygen levels have been staying up and he has overrun the ventilator a couple of times, taking more breaths than the ventilator is set to. (This is pivotal)
"He has been off the temperature control blanket for two days and his body has maintained correct temperature."
Meanwhile, several events are planned this week.
Tonight, music and storytelling is planned from 7-10 at Crossroads Church, 3354 Laurel Drive NW, Bemidji. The event is free, but offerings will help defray the family's medical costs.
There also will be funeral services for Isaiah's two brothers, 6-year-old Zechariah and 2-year-old Jacob, on Tuesday in Clearbrook.
A benefit for the boys is planned from 1-5 p.m. Saturday at Evangelical Covenant Church, 5405 Hart Lane NW, Bemidji. The event includes a spaghetti dinner, bake sale and auction.
Isaiah's CaringBridge website has generated about 24,000 visits since last Sunday and more than 500 people have signed the guestbook.
Visit Isaiah Risland's CaringBridge page online at www.caringbridge.org/visit/isaiahrisland
