A 17-year-old boy faces a long recovery after suffering a serious spinal injury following a routine tackle during a match in rural New South Wales.
Lincon Goard, 17, was playing rugby for the Binnaway Bombshells under-18 youth league in Narromine, a rural town about 40 kilometres west of Dubbo, on July 20.
Just 10 minutes into the game, Lincon was running with the ball when he was tackled by two Narromine Jets lads before a third joined the attack from behind.
Lincoln’s mother Nicole told Daily Mail Australia that a routine tackle led to the life-changing injury.
‘That tackle happens 1,000 times a weekend across the state, it was just a freak accident.
“You play a contact sport and sometimes these things happen, but it was a shame that this time it happened to my son.”
Lincoln heard a crack in his neck as he tilted his head forward and his chin hit his sternum. He knew instantly something was wrong.
He fell to the ground, unable to feel or move his legs or arms.
Players, coaches and trainers rushed to Lincoln’s aid, stabilising his neck to prevent further damage.
Lincon Goard, 17 (pictured with his grandfather), was playing rugby for the Binnaway Bombshells under-18 youth league in Narromine when he was tackled and suffered a serious spinal injury.
Lincoln suffered a broken C4 vertebra and a dislocated C5. He was rushed into surgery, where doctors spent six hours repairing the damage.
He was then rushed to Dubbo Base Hospital where doctors performed CT and MRI scans. The scans revealed that Lincon had fractures and dislocated vertebrae.
Lincoln, his parents and his 21-year-old sister Anna were flown by New South Wales ambulance to Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital.
Ms Goard said the surgical team was on standby and immediately began operating on Lincon that same night to repair the damage.
The surgery lasted six hours and involved removing the broken vertebra and inserting an artificial one, followed by repositioning the dislocated vertebra.
Lincon spent the next five days in the intensive care unit, where doctors told his family that such injuries often lead to quadriplegia.
However, just a day after surgery, Lincon was able to move the toes on his left foot and felt tingling throughout his body.
Doctors told Lincon’s parents, Nicole and Mark, that they could leave him a paraplegic. However, just one day after the operation, Lincon was able to move the toes on his left foot and felt “tingling” all over his body.
Ms Goard told Daily Mail Australia that Lincon had been moved to the spinal rehabilitation unit at Royal North Shore Hospital and was slowly regaining movement.
Lincon still has a long road to recovery, and his trainer’s wife started a GoFundMe page to help raise money for his rehabilitation costs.
“Now the normal sensation of touch is coming back and he’s moving his fingers a bit more,” Ms Goard said.
‘His left side is much stronger than his right. His right side is quite weak, but he has some movement there.
‘Yesterday he was put on his feet for the first time so he could support his own weight. It took a lot of effort. He is definitely on the right track.
Ms Goard said her son’s mood changed when he stood up for the first time since his injury and was then given access to his phone.
“He’s a typical 17-year-old boy who loves being on his phone.”“Just being able to reconnect with his peers has brought some normalcy back to his life,” Goard said.
“When we got it back on his phone I told my husband, ‘Our son is coming back.'”
He added that the family does not bear “ill will” towards the boys who attacked their son.
“At first the boy who did it didn’t take it very well, he thought he had incapacitated some child, but we have no ill will towards anyone,” Ms Goard said.
‘I called all the people who were with him on the field and I told them: ‘That was a human being on the field that you were looking after, but that human being was my whole world and you gave him the future that he now has.’
“If they had moved him a millimeter, he could have been on a breathing tube and not be able to move at all. They gave my son a future, so we are grateful.”
Ms Goard said Mr Lincon just wanted to go back to working as a diesel mechanic with his father and driving around with friends in his beloved truck.
Ms Goard added that the family is overwhelmed by the support they have received from their small community in Coonabarabran.
Ms Goard said Mr Lincon, who recently completed an apprenticeship as a diesel mechanic, was looking forward to getting back to work with his father and driving his beloved truck.
The teenager also jokingly asked his mother if he could play football next year. She replied with a resounding “no” and suggested that he could “play golf or take up knitting” instead.
Ms Goard added that the first 48 hours after her son’s accident felt like she had a “fuzzy hurricane swirling around in her head”.
“I would break down in a state of total desolation outside the room. His father and I would take turns doing it,” Goard said.
However, Ms Goard said the family had received overwhelming support from their Coonabarabran community.
“We live in a small community of about 2,000 people and we are quite overwhelmed by all the support with all the messages and prayers,” Ms Goard said.
‘They are fundraising and we are feeling quite overwhelmed by that aspect.
Even Lincoln says, “Mom, do you realize it’s just me?”
“He is really surprised that all this is happening to him.”