Boy who fell from Byron Bay cliffs making miraculous recovery
The mother of a boy who was critically injured after falling from a cliff has announced her son has shown promising signs of recovery and has been taken off life support.
Kim Goodrick’s son, Connor, 15, fell from a cliff above Tallow Beach, near Byron Bay, on March 23, needing to be incubated and sedated at the scene before being airlifted to hospital.
He had multiple fractures in his skull leading to serious brain damage on his left side.
Two weeks on from the horrifying accident, Mrs Goodrick said Connor had come off the ventilator and had started “talking and thanking the incredible nurses that work in ICU at the Gold Coast University Hospital”.
“Luckily, he can’t remember the accident, and is now resting. Today, I would like to thank the doctor, paramedic, pilot and whole team of the Westpac Helicopter Service based in Lismore NSW,” she wrote in a post to Facebook.
Mrs Goodrick allowed Connor to catch a bus to Byron Bay – about half an hour away from their home in Eureka – to meet up with a school friend.
She planned to meet him at 3pm to take him to a friend’s birthday party, but when he did not respond to her messages or calls more than an hour later, she started to get worried.
After searching his location using the Find My iPhone app, Mrs Goodrick and her husband discovered their son was at Cape Byron.
Connor’s friend had spent three hours stuck on a crumbling ledge, but managed to contact emergency services.
In her post thanking medical staff who helped her son, Mrs Goodrick appealed to the public to donate money towards a special piece of intubation equipment suitable for ventilating paediatric patients and young adults in the Westpac Helicopter.
She said staff at Lismore Base Hospital started a GoFundMe page which she encouraged people to contribute to.
Mrs Goodrick also campaigned to erect a warning sign at the site of her son’s accident and to have “necessary equipment” available to others who may be caught in a similar situation.
More than $1500 towards the GoFundMe page’s $15,000 goal had been raised Saturday afternoon.
Do you have a story tip? Email: y7newsroom@yahoo7.com.au.
You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.
