Matt and Melissa Graves, whose 2-year-old son Lane Graves was killed in an alligator attack at a Walt Disney resort in Florida in 2016, welcomed another baby boy to their family, they announced last week.
The Graves, who also are parents to daughter Ella, announced the birth of their son last Wednesday, revealing they named him Christian Lane Graves, with his middle name a tribute to the son they lost.
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“We are happy to announce the birth of our son, Christian Lane Graves. Although we know the pain of losing Lane will never go away, we feel God has blessed our family with this precious miracle of life,” they wrote in a press release.
They added that Lane’s loving spirit is watching over his two siblings. “We know Ella and Christian have their brother, Lane, watching over them as their guardian angel,” they wrote.
The statement continued, with them thanking those who have supported them through their son’s death and their other son’s birth, and asked again for privacy.
“The love and support we continue to receive from so many is greatly appreciated, but we ask that our desire for privacy continue to be honored,” they said.
Lane had been playing in the sand near the shoreline of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa in June 2016 while with his family on vacation from Nebraska when an alligator pulled him into a nearby lagoon. Matt said he was attacked by a second alligator as he unsuccessfully attempted to save his son. After a 16-hour search for the boy, the toddler’s body was found.
This past June, the Graves paid tribute to Lane on the second anniversary of his tragic death. “LT, we love you up to heaven and down to the grass. Hug, kiss, ugga mugga,” they wrote in a Facebook post for The Lane Thomas Foundation. “We will fight every day to keep your memory alive and make a positive difference in your name.”
Lane would have turned 5 on Sept. 3.
The Graves started the Lane Thomas Foundation shortly after his death, which helps cover travel and other non-medical expenses for families with children in need of life-saving organ transplants being treated at Omaha’s Children’s Hospital or Nebraska Medicine.
“Lane had a very special light about him. We promised him at his wake we would turn this tragedy into good for many families,” Matt said during a press conference in September 2017.
Disney World unveiled a lighthouse statue honoring Lane and the foundation last year. The memorial stands near the Seven Seas Lagoon where he was attacked.
“We find comfort that so many people continue to remember our sweet boy, Lane, and we believe the lighthouse stands as a beacon of hope and support for families in the depths of despair,” the Graves said in a statement to the Today show at the time.
