Kiama Downs father of two, Darryl Leslie, would be in a wheelchair today if not for the expert care of his mates, NSW Ambulance, SES volunteers and the NSW Fire and Rescue.
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Mr Leslie met with members of NSW Ambulance Service, Kiama SES and Kiama Fire and Rescue officers on Tuesday to thank them for their incredible efforts, which, incredibly allowed him to walk unaided to meet them in Kiama's Hindmarsh Park.
Mr Leslie was mountain bike-riding with a group of four on a remote bush track at Kiama Downs on the evening of March 5 when he hit a log and was catapulted head-first over the handlebars.
What followed was a sickening sound as a vertebra in his neck was crushed and a second one badly dislocated.
“I had ridden the track hundreds of times before and went over the jump as I usually do, but for some reason just didn’t land just right and was thrown from the bike,” Mr Leslie said.
The 49-year-old father of two said he knew immediately he was in trouble.
“I remember everything, every second of it. I knew straight away I was in trouble because my neck felt like someone had walked up behind me with a sledgehammer.
“My left leg was completely numb; I couldn’t feel anything; and my arms were on fire from nerve pain. I knew I had a bad neck injury, I knew not to move.”
Close friend Alex Henricson, who was riding with him, contacted off-duty NSW Ambulance Paramedic Dave Kay who usually rides with the group.
With a long history of biking accidents behind them, the team have been bolstered by first aid knowledge imparted by both paramedic Kay and a second team member who is also a paramedic.
Mr Kay responded from his nearby home immediately, while contacting Triple Zero (000) and alerting call takers to a potential spinal injury.
At the same time, fellow rider Rob McDonald, a Kiama SES volunteer, launched into action. He contacted the SES, appointed a member of the team to direct the emergency services vehicles as they arrived, and arranged a landing point for a NSW Ambulance helicopter.
Mr Kay said he and other attending paramedics Inspector Norm Rees, paramedics Nicholas Gibson and Robert Sainsbury, and special operations team paramedic Oliver Aleman assessed that Mr Leslie had suffered a serious spinal injury and needed to be flown out.
“He was complaining of pain in his neck and uncontrolled muscle spasms in his lower legs and that he was unable to move his legs,” Mr Kay said.
“The NSW Ambulance medical retrieval unit contacted me to discuss the situation. I had a chat with one of the doctors and we put into place full spinal mobilisation.”
Mr Leslie said the presence of paramedic Kay became a lifeline and held him together during the emergency care that followed.
“Every time Dave disappeared from my peripheral vision I started getting scared.
“It’s not just that he was a mate. I just knew he knew what to do.
“Every time he came back into my vision I calmed right down.”
Members of the SES and Kiama’s NSW Fire and Rescue Brigade arrived to walk Mr Leslie out on a spine board to the helicopter’s landing zone.
He was flown by a NSW Ambulance medical rescue helicopter to Royal North Shore Hospital where he underwent at least seven hours of surgery.
“One vertebra was literally reassembled around my spinal cord and the other was dislocated and required fusing together with titanium rods,” Mr Leslie said.
He was in an induced coma for the next 48 hours after surgery and spent a week in intensive care before embarking on months of rehabilitation to enable him to walk again with confidence.
“The first time I walked was just incredible. I teared up from the joy of being able to stand on my own feet.
“The injury affected the left side of my body so I was veering to the left. Eventually I learned to walk straight,” he said.
Mr Leslie said doctors advised him that if not for the expert clinical care he received immediately following his fall, he would likely be a quadriplegic.
“It was such a comfort to know the paramedics were there.
“I came very close. My doctor said the care I received from all emergency services on site made a huge difference.
“One slight movement the wrong way and I would have been done for. He called me the luckiest man in Australia.
“But he told me all along that while my mountain biking days were over that he would get me well enough to one day get back on a snowboard.
Paramedic Kay said Mr Leslie’s praise was appreciated, although the procedure followed was in line with training that all NSW Ambulance paramedics receive.
“What we did is what we’re trained to do - it’s how every patient with suspected spinal injuries would be treated,” he said.
Both patient and paramedic believe the fact Mr Leslie is walking today is “a miracle”.
“I feel I’m blessed; it’s just a miracle that I’m walking.”