After being hit by a car, a koala and her cub were taken to an animal hospital. The little boy only had minor injuries but his mother needed urgent surgery to survive. The baby was not separated from her throughout the operation.

Phantom , a six-month-old koala, and his mother, Lizzy , were struck by a car on a highway in Brisbane, Australia. Both were treated at the local zoo veterinary hospital. The little boy was safe and had suffered almost no injuries. The situation in the case of his mother was a little more complicated: one of her lungs had been perforated and she needed to be operated on urgently.

To keep Phantom from becoming stressed, they let him hang out with Lizzy while the vets operated on her, hospital spokeswoman Kate Carey told USA Today. The little boy clung to his mother throughout the surgery.
Lizzy managed to tolerate the operation, but she had to stay in the hospital, as she too had suffered facial trauma and she needed to be treated with antibiotics. Phantom also didn’t leave her side during her recovery. Vets photographed him clinging to her mother’s head as she rested.

Once recovered , Phantom and Lizzy were released. “There is nothing more gratifying than having achieved a successful rehabilitation for these two koalas. They weren’t with us very long, but in the short time we spent with them, we fell in love with this adorable couple,” said veterinarian Rebecca Millers, who has cared for both since they arrived at the hospital.