Local

Jacksonville Beach restaurant owner in critical condition after swimming pool incident is new father

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — A Jacksonville Beach restaurant owner who was in critical condition following a pool incident is a new father today — while he still remains in the hospital.

Sarunyu Boonsanong, better known as Guy, has been in the ICU for over two weeks after receiving a traumatic brain injury. His wife, Naphat Bukum, who goes by Noom, tells us that neither he nor his family is giving up hope.

“If his heart (is) still beating, he’s still there,” Noom said.

Saturday, the father of two had a special moment after his wife, who saved him while nine months pregnant, gave birth to their third child.

“He gets to see his dad for the first time this morning.”

Noom was not due just yet, but she went into labor a week early. She told us she didn’t think her baby could wait, saying, “The baby might want to see his dad, so he just might want to show up early.”

The hospital has pulled some strings, and Saturday morning, Guy was able to hold his new son, Livingston.

Noom says, Guy’s status isn’t great, but despite his heart stopping twice, they know he will keep going.

“He will try everything. He will try, he will fight, he will do anything to come back to us. I just don’t want to give up,” she said, adding, “We love him so much.”

She’s hoping they see some brain activity so he can be accepted at another hospital.

Noom hopes that Guy will “show some sign of improvement so he could be qualified to Sheperd’s.

She wants him to fight so he can get back to his family and his restaurant. “He not only loves me, but he loves my family, his restaurant, his customers, staff.”

And mostly, he loves his boys.

Noom says that it was special for the baby “to see his dad for the first time,” adding that their first meeting was “hopefully not the last.”

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