Man suffers horror spinal injury after swimming accident at work function
A young Brisbane man has been left with a serious spinal injury after an accident in a swimming pool at a work function, just days out from Christmas.
Real estate agent Charlie Lilley, 23, fractured his C6 vertebrae on December 15 following a “wrong dive”, according to a GoFundMe page.
Described as a “healthy and handsome young man”, Mr Lilley suffered “significant spinal cord trauma”, a friend of the family, Wendy Grady, wrote.
“After being transferred to Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital, Charlie underwent a gruelling nine-hour operation to prevent any further damage,” Ms Grady wrote.
“Charlie is now in the PA’s Spinal Injury Unit.
“He is left with very limited use of his arms, no fine motor skills in his hands, and no use of his lower limbs.”
Ms Grady added: “in the face of such loss, Charlie maintains his charisma and charm”.
“His manta is, ‘I’m going to fight this’,” she wrote.
Mr Lilley’s family is thankful he suffered no brain damage but expect the recovery to be “extremely difficult”.
The Brisbane resident, an employee of Ray White Graceville/Sherwood, was at an end of year function at a property in the Gold Coast hinterland.
A Ray White spokeswoman told Yahoo7 up to 29 people were in attendance at the event on December 15 when Mr Lilley was injured.
“They’re a very close group and they’re absolutely devastated,” the spokeswoman said.
“Many are receiving counselling.”
Ray White Queensland CEO Tony Warland added in a statement his diving accident is “tragic”.
It’s believed he suffered his injuries after diving into the shallow end of the swimming pool.
‘Committed to doing whatever it takes’
Well-wishers have also taken to Facebook in support of the 23-year-old.
It’s not known exactly what the extent of his injuries are but two friends claim he’s been “paralysed from the chest down”.
“Charlie is keeping incredibly positive,” one friend wrote.
“We don’t know how long it will take or what the end result will be, but Charlie is committed to doing whatever it takes.”
A workmate of Mr Lilley’s added the office “is just not the same” without his “smiling face” and “killer sense of humour”.
His family has been contacted for comment.
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