A young mechanic from rural NSW has defied a million-to-one odds after he suffered a quadriplegic injury in a bad rugby league tackle.
Lincon Goard, 17, was just seven minutes into a rugby league game in Narromine, about 40km west of Dubbo, when he suffered a life-changing injury that initially left him paralysed — unable to move any of his limbs.
“He was running with the ball when two boys tackled him and he instantly heard a crunch and then lost all feeling and movement in all of his limbs,” Lincon’s mum, Nicole, told 7NEWS.com.au.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
An off-duty police officer and a medic ran onto the field and stabilised Lincon as he endured a gruelling hour-long wait in the cold for an ambulance.
“He knew straight away it was bad, he had lost feeling in all four limb, and he had to lie on the field for an hour because it’s not like the city where you can get an ambulance straight away,” Nicole said.
Lincon was rushed to hospital, where an MRI confirmed he had broken his C4 vertebrae as well as dislocated his C5 spinal cord.
He was then flown to Royal North Shore hospital, where he would undergo a six hour-long operation to artificially replace his vertebrae and fix his dislocation.
The doctors were very pleased with the success of the operation and began to slowly wake Lincon from his induced coma.
Miraculously, he was able to slightly move his left leg and left arm.
From there, Lincon’s progress has been nothing short of incredible.
“The doctors told Lincon that one in a million patients in his state and with his injury do not progress like he has,” Nicole said.
The surgery, Nicole explained, was to save Lincon’s life — not to restore his movement — however, the young mechanic has amazed doctors with his recovery.
“We spent five days in the ICU where he gained a bit of movement before we were transferred to the rehab unit at Royal North Shore,” she said.
While at the rehab unit, Lincon then began to walk very slowly — again surprising doctors and nurses.
“He’s very determined and he’s only 17 so it’s sort of like his life was just about to take off, he really wants to get back to where he started,” Nicole said.
However, Lincon still has a long way to go.
Nicole says she has been blown away by the community’s support.
“We’re really overwhelmed with the outpouring of support not just from our community, but from the other team as well who have been doing fundraisers,” Nicole said.
“It blows me away and we so grateful we know we’re not alone.”
Meanwhile, Nicole says Lincon is in high spirits despite everything, and is already asking when he can go back to playing rugby league.
“I looked at him and said ‘Hell no, that’s not happening … you can take up knitting or golf’,” she said.
A friend has since organised a Go Fund Me page to help support the Goard family.
“Lincon is determined to be back at work in the future and he just cannot wait to get home and hang out with his mates and drive his beloved ute,” the page read.