The 11-year-old Lehi boy injured by a homemade firework on Pioneer Day is back on a ventilator after doctors tried unsuccessfully to wean him off of sedative drugs.

When doctors at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City took Bridger Hunt off of the drugs, he began thrashing around. The thrashing presented a risk that he could damage the wounds caused by the explosive device that nearly killed him, so doctors gave him muscle-paralyzing drugs and reinserted a breathing tube Saturday that had been removed several days earlier, according to hospital spokeswoman Bonnie Midget.

Midget said the reinsertion of the breathing tube is not indicative of a decline in Hunt's condition, which was upgraded from critical to serious on Saturday.

"His condition really is not any different. He's still serious and stable, but he is on the ventilator," she said. "I know the parents are very disappointed, as you can imagine, that he had to go back on the ventilator, but it really was important that the wounds not become damaged."

Karl Hunt, Bridger's father, said it was disappointing, but it was for his son's own good.

"It hurts all of us seeing him like that, but for him to be not bouncing off the walls like he was, it's better for him," he said.

On July 28, Bridger underwent 12 hours of surgery to repair damaged arteries, veins, tissues and bone in his left leg. After the surgery, doctors said they believed Bridger's leg had been saved. A surgery Friday to close the leg wound was unsuccessful, and the surgery will be reattempted later.

Karl said doctors will give Bridger an MRI today to check for neck damage, and if nothing turns up they will remove the neck brace he has worn since the accident. He will also undergo surgery today so doctors can make a routine examination of Bridger's wound.

"They say they're going to go in every two or three days and clean it out," he said.

On Monday, Karl said doctors told him that Bridger's femoral nerve, which was severed in the accident, could not be repaired.

"The nerve is dead. He'll never walk normally again," he said. "They're trying to do all they can with the tendons to make it so he'll have some motion in his leg, but he'll never have the feeling in the top part of his leg again."

Putting Bridger back on sedatives and the ventilator helped bring his blood pressure and heart rate back to normal, Midget said. Karl said Bridger's heart rate had been as high as 175 beats per minute.

There will be a fundraiser for Bridger on Thursday at Bonneville Park in Orem, 800 West and 1500 North, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Karl said the fundraiser, which will include a raffle and silent auction, is being organized by Bridger's friends.

"They care a lot," he said.

Bridger was riding his bicycle near his grandparents' house in Lehi on July 24 when a homemade firework, consisting of a metal pipe filled with black powder, exploded about 30 feet from him. Shrapnel from the device tore through Bridger's leg and torso.

Police said the device was built and detonated by 45-year-old Craig A. Miller, of Lehi. Miller was charged last week with child abuse; possession or control of an incendiary or explosive device; and obstruction of justice. He is scheduled to appear in Provo's 4th District Court on Aug. 26.

• Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or jduda@heraldextra.com.