A 17-year-old boy faces a long recovery after he sustained a serious spinal injury from a routine tackle during a game in rural New South Wales.
Lincon Goard, 17, was playing rugby for the Binnaway Bombshells under-18s youth league in Narromine, a rural town about 40km west of Dubbo, on July 20.
Just 10 minutes into the game, Lincon was running with the ball when he was tackled by two boys from the Narromine Jets before a third joined the pile-on from behind.
Lincon’s mum, Nicole, told Daily Mail Australia that a routine tackle caused the lifechanging injury.
‘That tackle happens 1,000 times every weekend throughout the whole state, it was just a freak accident.
‘You play a contact sport, and these things sometimes happen, but it was just unfortunate that it was my son this time.’
Lincoln heard a ‘crunch’ in his neck when his head bent forward, and his chin hit his sternum. He instantly knew something was wrong.
He fell to the ground, unable to feel or move his legs or arms.
The players, coaches and trainers rushed to Lincon’s aid, stabilising his neck to prevent any further damage.
Lincon Goard, 17, (pictured with his grandfather) was playing rugby for Binnaway Bombshells under 18s youth league in Narromine when he was tackled and suffered a severe spinal injury
Lincon broke his C4 vertebrae and dislocated his C5 vertebrae. 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 both broken and dislocated vertebrae.
Lincon, his parents, and his 21-year-old sister Anna were then flown by NSW Ambulance to Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital.
Ms Goard explained that the surgical team was on standby and immediately began operating on Lincon late 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 informed his family that such injuries often lead to quadriplegia.
However, just one day after his surgery, Lincon was able to move his toes on his left foot and felt ‘pins and needles’ throughout his entire body.
Doctors told Lincon’s parents, Nicole and Mark, could make him a paraplegic. However, just one day after his surgery, Lincon was able to move his toes on his left foot and felt ‘pins and needles’ throughout his entire body.
Ms Goard told Daily Mail Australia Lincon was moved to the spinal rehab unit at Royal North Shore Hospital and was slowly regaining his movement
Lincon still has a long road to recovery, with his coach’s wife starting a GoFundMe page to help raise funds for his rehabilitation costs
‘Now normal sensation of touch is sort of coming back, and he is moving his fingers a little bit more,’ Ms Goard said.
‘His left side is a lot stronger than his right. His right side is quite weak but he’s got a bit of movement there.
‘They stood him up for the first time yesterday so he could hold his own weight. It took a lot of effort on his behalf. He’s definitely heading in the right direction.
Ms Goard said her son’s spirits shifted when he stood for the first time since the injury and then was given access to his phone.
‘He’s a typical 17-year-old boy who loves being on his phone. Just being able to connect back with his mates has given him some normality back into life,’ Ms Goard said.
‘When we got him back on his phone I said to my husband, there’s our son coming back.’
She added the family holds no ‘ill will’ towards the boys who tackled her son.
‘The boy that did it wasn’t dealing real well with it initially, he thought he’d disabled some kid, but we don’t have any ill will against anyone,’ Ms Goard said.
‘I rang all the people that were with him on the field and I said ‘that was a human being on the ground that you looked after, but that human being was my whole world, and you gave him the future that he’s now got.’
‘Had they moved him a millimeter, he could be on a breathing tube and have absolutely no movement. They gave my son a future, so we are grateful for that’.
Ms Goard said Lincon just wanted to get back to working as a diesel mechanic with his dad and driving around with his mates in his beloved ute
Ms Goard added the family is overwhelmed by the support they received from their small community in Coonabarabran
Ms Goard said Lincon, who recently finished his apprenticeship as a diesel mechanic, was looking forward to getting back to work with his dad and driving his beloved ute.
The teenager also jokingly asked his mum if he could play football next year. She responded with a firm ‘hell no’ and suggested he could ‘play golf or take up knitting’ instead.
Ms Goard added that the first 48 hours after her son’s accident felt like having a ‘fuzzy hurricane swirling in her head.’
‘I would just break down in utter devastation outside the room. His dad and I would take it in turns,’ Ms Goard said.
However, Ms Goard said the family has received overwhelming support from their Coonabarabran community.
‘We live in a small community of about 2,000 people and we’re quite overwhelmed by all the support with all of the messages and prayers,’ Ms Goard said.
‘They’re doing fundraising, and we’re feeling quite overwhelmed by that side of it.
‘Even Lincoln says, “mum, do they realise it’s just me?”
‘It really blows his mind that all happening for him.’
