21.5 C
Byron Shire
March 27, 2024

C-Jay recovers with breakneck speed

Latest News

Save Wallum finalist in NSW 2024 environment awards

The Save Wallum campaign has been named as a finalist in the Nature Conservation Council of NSW Environment Awards 2024. The award ceremony will be held in Sydney tonight, and Save Wallum spokesperson and ecologist James Barrie will be attending with Tegan Kitt, another founding member of the group.

Other News

Superbowls

Superbowls is your go-to spot for a burst of woodfired flavour! Nestled in Byron Arts and Industry Estate, the...

Urgent appeal

At last Thursday’s Byron Council meeting a long and dedicated campaign to save rail tracks and restore trains in...

Bruns-Billinudgel RSL marches on

Though recently the membership of the Brunswick Heads–Billinudgel RSL sub-Branch has grown, the numbers are still very low and if there is not a continual increase, this chapter faces closing.

Mullum pods

They look so uninviting and dismal. It would not cost a lot to change the name to ‘tiny homes’...

Terania blockade film to support Wallum cause

A film about Australia’s first environmental confrontation, which occured at Terania Creek near Nimbin, will screen on Friday, 22 March from 7pm at Brunswick Picture House as a fundraiser for the Save Wallum campaign. 

Got a creative theatre idea?

Mullumbimby’s The Drill Hall Theatre Company (DHTC) is offering two creative development opportunities for local independent artists to develop new performance piece concepts.

C-Jay McKenzie back at work at the Mecca Cafe in Lismore after breaking his neck falling from a tree. (Darren Coyne)
C-Jay McKenzie back at work at the Mecca Cafe in Lismore after breaking his neck falling from a tree. (Photo Darren Coyne)

Darren Coyne

Doctors reckoned C-Jay McKenzie should be dead.

The 17-year-old fell from a tree, face first, into shallow water just eight months ago at Lake Ainsworth, Lennox Head.

He still remembers the moment.

‘I was with a few friends and had just ate lunch. I was the first and the last in the water,’ he told Echonetdaily.

‘I was standing on a branch about to jump out when a mate started shaking the tree.

‘I fell once and caught myself and he kept shaking and I fell headfirst into about a foot of water.

‘My best mate was on the bank and he got to me first.

“I was face down in the water, still conscious, but couldn’t move my arms.

‘My mate rolled me over onto him and held me flat on his back until the ambulance arrived.’

What followed was the scariest four weeks of his life.

The fall broke two vertebrae in his neck, and doctors told him he should’ve been dead from the injuries.

Instead, he spent four weeks in traction in Brisbane with a ‘halo’ bolted to his head.

‘They didn’t tell me I was paralyzed. They waited three weeks to see if it would come back to me,’ he recalled.

‘I could only just move my feet a little and couldn’t close a fist or press a button to call the nurses in.’

‘I thought I was screwed.’

For C-Jay, who had begun an apprenticeship after leaving Evans River High aged just 14, it was as if his world had collapsed.

‘It happened just as everything was sorted. I’d got a car, a house and a girlfriend and then bam,’ he said.

After four weeks in traction, doctors at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane set about repairing the damage.

‘One vertebra, the C5, broke in half and the other, C7, exploded. I was also left with permanent scarring on my spinal cord.’

As the bones healed, doctors took a piece of C-Jay’s thighbone to repair his C4 vertebra, which had been pushed out in the fall. They also inserted a plate and screws to hold it all together.

‘I was the only one making jokes’ he said.

‘All I was thinking about when it first happened were my plans for holidays, my birthday, and that I’d never walk again.

‘But I knew that negativity would slow me down so I tried to stay positive and I think that’s what sped up my recovery.’

Eight months on, C-Jay is not only up walking again, he’s getting on with his life.

Yesterday he started back at the Mecca Café, after signing on to complete the second year of his apprenticeship.

‘Going back to work was really good. I’m so happy to be back and everyone was really helpful,’ he said.

As for jumping out of trees at Lake Ainsworth, ‘I’m never going near that place again,’ he said.


Support The Echo

Keeping the community together and the community voice loud and clear is what The Echo is about. More than ever we need your help to keep this voice alive and thriving in the community.

Like all businesses we are struggling to keep food on the table of all our local and hard working journalists, artists, sales, delivery and drudges who keep the news coming out to you both in the newspaper and online. If you can spare a few dollars a week – or maybe more – we would appreciate all the support you are able to give to keep the voice of independent, local journalism alive.

1 COMMENT

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

New report highlights gaps in rural and remote health

The second annual Royal Flying Doctor Service ‘Best for the Bush, Rural and remote Health Base Line’ report has just been released. Presenting the latest data on the health of rural and remote Australians and evidence on service gaps, it identifies issues in urgent need of attention from service providers, funders, partners and policy makers.

UK court seeks assurances from US over Julian Assange

The UK High Court of Justice has released a 66 page judgement seeking more information from the United States relating to Australian citizen Julian Assange, which it says it needs before deciding whether to grant the WikiLeaks founder leave to appeal his extradition.

Safety and preparation saves lives on the water

A large number of boaters are expected to hit the water over the Easter long weekend and Marine Rescue NSW is reminding boaters to be prepared and log on to the Marine Rescue NSW app.

It’s a biggest little town festival! 

Supporters, performers, and volunteers gathered to launch the Mullum Laneways Festival 2024 last Friday.