Binnaway Bombshells rugby league player Lincon Goard paralysed in every limb by horror tackle – before staging a miraculous recovery
A young footballer overcomes huge adversity after being left paralysed by a tackle just minutes into a rugby league match.
Lincon Goard, 17, was playing for the Binnaway Bombshells Rugby League Club in Narromine, near Dubbo in central-west New South Wales, on July 20 when his life changed in an instant.
The teenager ‘heard a crack’ when tackled by two opponents and immediately lost all feeling and movement in his limbs, after less than seven minutes of play.
A doctor and an off-duty police officer rushed to the field and helped stabilize Lincon while they waited an hour in the cold for an ambulance.
An MRI confirmed that the student worker had fractured his C4 vertebra and dislocated his C5 spinal cord.
He was then airlifted to the Royal North Hospital in Sydney, where he underwent a six-hour operation to artificially replace his vertebrae and correct the dislocation.
Lincon slowly woke up from an induced coma and to the doctors’ great surprise, he was able to move his left leg and arm a little again.
“The doctors told Lincon that one in a million patients in his condition and with his injury would not progress as well as he did,” his mother Nicole said. 7News.
Young footballer Lincon Goard (right) has made great strides on his long road to recovery after being left paralysed just minutes into a rugby league match
Lincoln’s miraculous recovery continued after five days of rehabilitation at the RNSH, during which he slowly began to walk again.
Although his condition continues to improve and shock his doctors, it will take a long time for the damage to his nervous system to repair itself.
“He’s very determined and he’s only 17. It’s like his life is about to take off. He wants so badly to get back to where he started,” his mother said.
She added that Lincon is determined to continue his development and has already asked when he can return to the field.
The teenager lost all feeling and movement in his limbs, but was slowly able to walk again after a six-hour operation to replace a vertebra and repair another that had become dislocated.
a GoFundMe A family friend began investigating, which revealed that Lincon had just completed his training as a heavy vehicle mechanic with his father Mark.
“Lincon and Mark are the only employees of this company and therefore it will no longer be possible to continue operating the business for the foreseeable future,” the page reads.
“Lincon is determined to get back to work in the future and he can’t wait to get home, hang out with his friends and drive his beloved pickup truck.”
The GoFundMe campaign to support the family while she is unable to work has raised more than $5,000 in just over five days.