‘I'm still here.' Teen survives 240-foot ravine fall and coma after MO accident
The 13-year-old boy, who was rescued from Goose Creek on July 30 after a skateboarding accident, has spent the last two weeks in a St. Louis hospital.
'We are actively fighting to try and get him stable, but all the cards are stacking against him,' his mother, Stephanie Neely, told People in an Aug. 6 interview. 'He is still not breathing on his own, and we have found another fracture on his skull, creating a massive soft spot on the right side of his head.'
Many people referred to the teen's rescue as a miracle after he fell 240 feet down the ravine over a heavily vegetated area.
Where he landed aided in his survival, Neely told People. She said the shade protected him 'from the direct sun,' and his location 'partially in the water' allowed his 'body temperature to stay cooler.'
Still, the teen had a lot to overcome. On the Facebook group DakotaStrong, which has chronicled the 13-year-old's journey since being hospitalized, Neely said in an Aug. 5 update that her son suffered severe head trauma, including tearing or separation in his brain.
He was also battling pneumonia and his entire body was covered in cuts and open wounds, according to his mom.
In a medically induced coma, Dakota began showing signs of improvement Aug. 8 when he threw a ball with his physical therapist, according to KSDK. The next day, he signed 'I love you' to his mom.
'I cried. I started bawling,' Neely told KSDK. 'That was the sign I really needed… I could finally take a deep breath and finally got some sleep that night because, in my mom heart, I knew he was going to be OK.'
Neely shared additional good news on Facebook Aug. 10 when she revealed that her son was finally off the ventilator. He remains 'in excruciating pain,' his mom said, but he managed to eat his first meal Aug. 11 — a burger and fries from Burger King.
He'll remain in the ICU as he fights off infections and the effects of being in the coma, but Neely expects her son to continue fighting, according to KSDK.
'Just proving to all of us just truly how strong he is, how resilient, and how stubborn he is, which is honestly what saved his life,' she told the station. 'He wasn't going to give up. And he's like, 'I'm not just gonna lay here and die.' For him to finally come out of it two weeks after he went missing is huge. He's still proving to everyone, 'I'm fighting, I'm still here, I can survive.''
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