Firstly Tom's parents would like to thank his friends, well wishers and the MTB community who have rallied around Tom and sent their best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Tom was admitted to Royal North Shore hospital yesterday morning after a bad crash during training, and suffered face and back injuries. Tom underwent plastic surgery today but was his normal feral self on return to the ward and is receiving excellent care despite what you hear in the news. At this stage it is early days but it is expected he will have an extended stay of six weeks in hospital so we are sure hearing from his mates will help time pass and aid recovery.
He will probably be on his Macbook in a couple of weeks but in the meantime well wishes can be left in this forum.
Thanks to everyone from David and Liz Patton.
*Update 10/10/07
Tom will be able to take visitors from this weekend. He cant speak and is flat out on his back so probably short visits are best. He is in ward 9A at Royal North Shore Hospital for those wishing to visit him.
Tom's family extend their thanks to all those who have posted best wishes on this forum. They've printed them off and read them to him yesterday which he really appreciated. Please keep em coming.
*Update 11/10/07
*Update 23/10/07
*Update 03/11/07
Now that most of the operations are done, we have more accurate information on the damage Tom has sustained.
We can now confirm that Tom has fractured his T3 and T4 in his back as well as his C7 in his neck. His jaw is broken in 4 places as well as at the joint, and both his cheek bones have collapsed.
At this point Tom is still lying on his back and isn’t aloud to sit up beyond 30 degrees. We’re hoping that in approximately 1 week’s time, Tom will start sitting up right. The following week should then see the doctors slowly start putting his bed up straight so he can try to walk again.
Tom’s mouth is still wired up at this time, but he should be having the wires removed in approximately 2 weeks time. Talking is obviously still very difficult, but Tom now has his laptop setup on his bed so he can read the messages you send.
More pictures can be found here.
*Update 12/11/07Tom has taken his first steps today after lying on his back for the last month. Will keep you updated on his progress and a possible release date. Yeow
*Update 13/11/07
Full details to come, but news is that Tom has been released from the hospital. How tough is this kid!
*Update 14/11/07
After spending more than 5 weeks in a hospital bed, Tom Patton was finally released at 6pm Tuesday 13th November. The timing couldn’t have been better as he now gets to enjoy his 17th birthday (14th November) at home with his family and friends.
Unfortunately he will still have to wear the neck/back brace for another 5 weeks, but his progress is ever improving and he can currently walk for 10-15 minutes.
Happy Birthday Tom.
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Hope everything turns out ok and that he gets well soon. Best of luck and i hope he has a speedy recovery.
