Hi, My name is Shaun Adams and I am raising funds to help Jack McIlwaine who on Saturday was celebrating his 51st Bday at a surprise party held for him, when a tragic accident occurred that will change his life forever. Im not sure how you put a price on this but Jack and his family will need all the help they can get. To put it bluntly, Jack has sustained life changing neck and spinal cord injuries that are catastrophic, the second worst break you could have in the neck.

A Huge shout out to Skye Dillon who has been by Jack's side since the accident happened and has been giving me updates regularly on his progress, the below info is from Skye in her words so I have just copied and pasted this....

This is the story of Jack McIlwaine below and what the future holds for him

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We were told last night that Jack has broken his neck, severed his spinal cord and won’t walk again. It was as blunt as that!

He has had every scan, xray, blood test and the reality is that he couldn’t feel anything from his neck down.

This morning he went in for spinal surgery. He had a vertebrae that dislocated and was basically sitting beside the one below it instead of on top of it. They went through the front of his neck to repair the vertebrae and put them back where they should be. He has screws and plates put in. Slowly today he has had some feeling comeback in his upper body. He can feel touch (though light) from his neck down to his lower belly. He has feeling in some fingers but not all but cannot use his hands. He has had physio and can give some resistance in his arms.

He can feel where he gets touched on his feet, it doesn’t feel the same but he can feel it. He doesn’t have use of his legs.

The greatest news was we found out that his spinal cord wasn’t severed but crushed so that’s a better case scenario. The doctor told me that the body can go into shock and shut down nerve endings but they can start firing again sometimes as late as 7 days later. We are taking today as some little wins for Jack.

His pain is under control and he will be heading into surgery on Tuesday to go through the back of his neck to secure his vertebrae with screws from the back. He will be in a neck brace for quite some time but should have movement back in his neck once he is fully healed.

He is currently in the Alfred hospital in ICU and is happy if anyone wants to visit. I will advise otherwise if this changes. This afternoon he was very positive saying he is going to fight and do everything he can to give himself the best chance to recover what he can.

He will be in the Alfred for probably a week depending on how Tuesdays surgery goes. He will then be transferred to the Austin for spinal rehabilitation where he will most likely be for a couple of months.

Nothing is set in stone but he has suffered a very serious spinal injury. Keep your prayers coming or whatever you believe in. He needs as much support as he can get.

This was just a tragic accident that has been life changing for Jack. He is going to have good days and bad but if we all surround him with love and support this will help greatly in his mental state which in turn will help his recovery.

This was not how his birthday was suppose to go. From the bottom of my heart thank you for making the effort for him last night. He was having the greatest night up until then.

I’ll try and keep you all informed as I find things out. X

P.s his cheeky personality came out today a bit with the nurses which was great to see. Keep him in your prayers x