A 10-year-old Kalispell boy is in stable condition at Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital in Spokane after being struck in the face by fireworks Wednesday night in Hungry Horse.

Caleb Kingery was with his mother, Monica, sitting along U.S. 2 in Hungry Horse watching fireworks when there was a loud noise, and she looked over to see him crouching down.

She first thought he was messing around before realizing what had happened.

“He immediately got up and said, ‘Help me, I can’t see,’” Monica Kingery said. “He kept asking what had happened because he didn’t know, but was able to walk to the fire department. He got his vision back and everything.”

She said Caleb’s glasses helped protect his eyes. While the frames had exploded into pieces, the lenses did not break.

After being transported to North Valley Hospital, however, Caleb began vomiting blood. His eyes swelled shut soon thereafter and he stopped talking. It was at that point that the decision was made to airlift the boy to Spokane.

In all, Caleb suffered two fractured orbitals (the circular bones that surround the eye sockets), a broken nose, a large dent in the middle of his forehead and a burn on his forehead. Doctors in Whitefish told the Kingery family that Caleb also suffered a fracture of the plate between his brain and his nasal cavity.

His mother, who had not slept since the incident as of 3 p.m. Thursday, said there was some good news.

“They said the bone is not pushing on his brain and the bleeding is minimal,” she said. “When they wake him up he does respond, squeezes hands and moves when he needs to move. But he can’t open his eyes because they’re too swollen.”

Because of that swelling, doctors have not yet operated on Caleb. His mother said the doctors told her they don’t typically operate until swelling goes down, so it likely will wait for two or three days.

It is still unknown what hit Caleb.

Kingery described her son as a very active, outdoorsy child who will enter fifth grade next year at Russell Elementary School in Kalispell. He has two sisters, Kylee, 13, and Chloe, 4.

“He played baseball this year and played on the 10-U All-Star Team,” Monica said. “He likes skateboarding, riding his scooter, riding his rip stick. He just likes to be outdoors all the time.”

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.