Help Connor on his new Journey!
Donation protected
On Saturday 10th February 2018, our cousin Connor, was in a pool accident and now he needs all the help he can get!
For those that don’t know Connor, he’s lively 22 year old who spends every non-working moment riding his BMX, playing sport or playing his beloved video games. Connor is a happy go lucky guy who enjoys hanging out with his mates and spending time with his family. But at 22 years of age his whole world has just been thrown upside down!
On this particular Saturday upon jumping into the pool Connor slipped, hitting his head/neck on the pool step, immediately knocking him unconscious. He was found floating upside down, resuscitated by the poolside and rushed to Canberra Hospital. After scans to determine the severity of his injury Connor was placed into an induced coma and airlifted to Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney for emergency surgery on his spine.
Connor fractured his C5 vertebrate and dislodged surrounding vertebrate. Consequently, compressing his spinal cord. Connor underwent extensive surgery, where bone was taken from his hip and fused to the damage vertebrae while also fitting a metal plate to his spine to stabilise his neck.
He spent the next 10 days in the Intensive Care Unit, 5 days of which were under sedation and on a ventilator. Connor has now come off the ventilator and is fully awake but due to the spinal cord and nerve damage Connor is currently paralysed.
He is very slowly coming to terms with the severity of the accident and as each day passes Connor is slowly developing sensations in his upper body. He can currently feel from his shoulders to wrists on both arms but unfortunately has no feeling nor movement from his mid torso down.
As you can imagine this accident has now changed his life forever and now he needs his family, friends and community to help him get his independence back.
The next part of Connors Journey…
In the coming days Connor will be moved to the spinal ward at Prince of Wales. Here he will begin an extensive rehabilitation regime. Specialists have advised it will take 6 weeks for the swelling to subside and 3 months before the extent of the damage is determined.
Every day is a new day and his family are continually praying that Connor defies all odds. It will take months and years of determination, commitment and patience to see results, he has a very long and courageous journey ahead! He is in the hands of the finest specialists at one of the top hospitals in this country for spinal injury, but unfortunately these services all come at a cost. And as the family adjusts to the impact of Connors accident daily, the financial burden is a way in which you may like to help alleviate some of the worry.
So, for those that wish to help…
Let’s get behind Connor and his family! Let’s make this life transition just that little bit easier! In the blink of an eye this young adult and his family have had their lives as they knew it changed forever. Together they have a long mental, physical and emotional road ahead so let’s help in the best way we can by relieving some of the financial pressures. All donations will help towards Connors medical costs and assist in his ongoing rehabilitation.
Connor in himself is very determined and motivated for his rehab journey and is focused on reaching a point where he can return home to his family and friends in Canberra to continue his journey.
To thank those that support Connor, we would like to provide the opportunity to stay informed. We will send fortnightly updates via email (hopefully with some photos/videos) so you can celebrate the little wins with him. For those that wish to stay updated please contact Courtney using the email link above.
Connor and his family would again like to thank everyone that has reached out to help and, a big thankyou in advance to those that donate! Please know this doesn’t go unnoticed and will help to make a difference to Connors new life.
For those that don’t know Connor, he’s lively 22 year old who spends every non-working moment riding his BMX, playing sport or playing his beloved video games. Connor is a happy go lucky guy who enjoys hanging out with his mates and spending time with his family. But at 22 years of age his whole world has just been thrown upside down!
On this particular Saturday upon jumping into the pool Connor slipped, hitting his head/neck on the pool step, immediately knocking him unconscious. He was found floating upside down, resuscitated by the poolside and rushed to Canberra Hospital. After scans to determine the severity of his injury Connor was placed into an induced coma and airlifted to Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney for emergency surgery on his spine.
Connor fractured his C5 vertebrate and dislodged surrounding vertebrate. Consequently, compressing his spinal cord. Connor underwent extensive surgery, where bone was taken from his hip and fused to the damage vertebrae while also fitting a metal plate to his spine to stabilise his neck.
He spent the next 10 days in the Intensive Care Unit, 5 days of which were under sedation and on a ventilator. Connor has now come off the ventilator and is fully awake but due to the spinal cord and nerve damage Connor is currently paralysed.
He is very slowly coming to terms with the severity of the accident and as each day passes Connor is slowly developing sensations in his upper body. He can currently feel from his shoulders to wrists on both arms but unfortunately has no feeling nor movement from his mid torso down.
As you can imagine this accident has now changed his life forever and now he needs his family, friends and community to help him get his independence back.
The next part of Connors Journey…
In the coming days Connor will be moved to the spinal ward at Prince of Wales. Here he will begin an extensive rehabilitation regime. Specialists have advised it will take 6 weeks for the swelling to subside and 3 months before the extent of the damage is determined.
Every day is a new day and his family are continually praying that Connor defies all odds. It will take months and years of determination, commitment and patience to see results, he has a very long and courageous journey ahead! He is in the hands of the finest specialists at one of the top hospitals in this country for spinal injury, but unfortunately these services all come at a cost. And as the family adjusts to the impact of Connors accident daily, the financial burden is a way in which you may like to help alleviate some of the worry.
So, for those that wish to help…
Let’s get behind Connor and his family! Let’s make this life transition just that little bit easier! In the blink of an eye this young adult and his family have had their lives as they knew it changed forever. Together they have a long mental, physical and emotional road ahead so let’s help in the best way we can by relieving some of the financial pressures. All donations will help towards Connors medical costs and assist in his ongoing rehabilitation.
Connor in himself is very determined and motivated for his rehab journey and is focused on reaching a point where he can return home to his family and friends in Canberra to continue his journey.
To thank those that support Connor, we would like to provide the opportunity to stay informed. We will send fortnightly updates via email (hopefully with some photos/videos) so you can celebrate the little wins with him. For those that wish to stay updated please contact Courtney using the email link above.
Connor and his family would again like to thank everyone that has reached out to help and, a big thankyou in advance to those that donate! Please know this doesn’t go unnoticed and will help to make a difference to Connors new life.
Organizer
Courtney Ahrens
Organizer
Jerrabomberra NSW
