A YEAR since a horrific motorbike accident, Kerang student Mitchell Wilson has inspired those around him.
In a social media post a year to the day, his family said it was a time “we will never forget”.
“It’s been 12 months since Mitchell had his accident and the following three months were the hardest we have ever had to deal with, and would not wish anyone to go through,” parents Andrew and Leigh said.
Mitchell was placed in an induced coma at The Royal Children’s Hospital in a critical condition with bleeds on the brain.
With multiple skull fractures, Mitchell had surgery to remove part of his skull to ease pressure on his brain and prevent further damage.
He was the vice-captain at Kerang Primary School and missed his graduation.
The family said being told if he survived, “you will never have your little boy that you had prior is so hard to deal with”.
“Especially for me, as I had asked him to do a job for me that he had done many times before when he fell from the motorbike,” Mr Wilson said.
The family thanked the paramedics at the scene, air ambulance pilot and medic and neurosurgeon at the Children’s.
“A very big thank you to Mitchell’s neurosurgery team for saving his life and giving him every chance of making whatever recovery possible,” the family said.
“We had a lot of hurdles along the way, but Mitchell has pulled through like a miracle smashing every challenge given to him.”
The family said Mitchell has accomplished many things in the past seven months.
“He has been full-time at school for a bit over half of the year, he has also won a singles badminton championship, played a game of masters football with his older brother Jamie Wilson and myself, and has also taken up clay target shooting and has won quite a few events,” the family reported.
Mitchell also competed in the national Field and Game and ranked seventh, and just fell short of making the A grade side.
The Gannawarra community rallied around the Wilson, with a GoFundMe campaign set up to assist the family with ongoing costs.
Donations exceeded the initial fundraising target of $5000 within four days of establishing the page.
Kerang Primary School held a free-dress fundraiser for Mitchell, donating proceeds to The Royal Children’s Hospital.
