There's been another setback in the recovery of an Invercargill boy whose skull was accidentally punctured with an electric fence post.
An update on his Givealittle page showed the latest hurdle for Kade Phillips (10) was an infection that had resulted in more surgery on his brain - the sixth since he was injured more than three months ago.
The Sacred Heart pupil had been accidentally struck in the side of his head by a 9-year-old friend who had picked up the fence post on the way to school. Police investigated the incident but no charges were laid.
The injury to his head had left Kade with some paralysis on the right side of his body and impacted his speech.
In a December interview with the New Zealand Herald his mother, Theresa Smart said he was making good progress.
"He is in a wheelchair but he can walk on his own for a few steps as long as I have my hands around his waist or I'm holding his hands."
He'd made such good progress Kade was even able to spend Christmas at home with family in Invercargill before returning to the rehabilitation centre in the New Year.
However, a serious infection had set in in his brain and the doctors needed to go in and remove part of his skull to clean out the infection.
"Unfortunately Kade had to have more surgery yesterday [Monday January 11] and during this they found that Kade's brain and skull were extremely infected," it said. "It looks like it had been breeding away for a while.
"Now we are looking at weeks of IV antibiotics and then eventually he will have to head back into surgery where a titanium plate will be put in, to replace his missing bone."
But despite the setback it seemed Kade remained upbeat.
A picture of him and his mother, showed the young boy, with a huge grin, while his head was covered in a bandage with the words "no flap bone".
"All of this and look at that smile, this kid is amazing, so beautiful and patient," the update read.
