Just last month, 4-year-old Na’vaun Jackson, of Oakland, California, accidentally shot himself in the head after finding a gun under a pillow at the home of his mother’s estranged boyfriend. Due to the injury sustained, Na’vaun was placed in a medically induced coma, and his family was informed he would be brain-dead and lose the ability to walk.

Ever since Na’vaun’s injury, his mother and the rest of his family remained by his side, praying for his recovery.

 Their prayers were recently answered when the 4-year-old opened his eyes for the first time. On Thursday, Price briefed reporters with WUSA9 that her son has been let out of the intensive care unit and is breathing independently. Na’vaun has even been able to sip through a straw.

Although Na’vaun’s family has already lost four relatives to firearm-related violence. 

The gun Na’vaun found belonged to family friend Terrence Wilson, who was prohibited from owning a firearm due to prior felony convictions, KRON4 reported. When Na’vaun found the gun under Wilson’s pillow, it was unlocked and loaded.
Police have charged Wilson with possession of a firearm by a felon and child abuse.

“It was really irresponsible,” Ramon Price, Na’vaun’s grandfather, told CNN. “And unfortunately, it was my grandson who got to pay the ultimate price.”

While Na’vaun’s condition has stabilized, his family was told he suffered permanent, irreversible brain damage.

“We maintain our faith and pray that things will turn out and he will leave [the hospital], but with the extent of his injuries, he’ll never be the same,” his great-aunt Jamilia Land told CNN.