He defied all odds to walk out of Westmead Children's Hospital last week, now the Hawkesbury community is rallying around Jets basketballer Alex Partington with a Trivia Night fundraiser.
Alex, 15, suffered a devastating spinal injury as a result a BMX bike accident in November last year.
When Alex fell he broke his C3 and C4 at the base of his neck. The injury to his nerves and tissue were the most severe of all spinal injuries.
Since then he has been receiving treatment and rehabilitation at Westmead Children’s and in recent times has defied all odds to get back on his feet.
“We would set weekly goals for him and he would smash them out of the park,” Catherine Fitzgerald from Westmead Children’s told Channel Seven.
“I didn’t want to leave Hospital in a wheelchair,” Alex said.
Hawkesbury Community Outreach Services are hosting a Trivia Night Fundraiser for Alex, to raise money to assist he and his family who are unable to access Medicare services.
Alex’s parents Julia and Dave aren’t Australian citizens and therefore don’t qualify for government funding.
Julia has worked as a youth welfare worker in the Hawkesbury for many years, and in recent years has made a lot of in-roads in improving the issue of youth homelessness in the region.
Despite the fact that she and her husband have been living and working in Australia for nearly a decade, it won’t help them gain disability assistance.
The Sydney Kings themed trivia night will be held at the Kurrajong Community Centre on the July 29 from 6.30pm – 10.30pm. There will be plenty of rounds and giveaways.
The road ahead for Alex will be a tough one as the injuries from his accident left him paralysed from the neck down.
As a result of these injuries, Alex had lost function of his diaphragm which meant he could no longer breathe on his own.
Alex had to undergo a tracheotomy. This involved making an incision in his neck below the vocal cords and having a tube inserted into his windpipe.
Alex could not use his voice, so communication was done by lip reading and holding up an alphabet card so Alex could move his eyes towards the letter of the word he wanted to spell out.
He has climbed mountains to get where he is today, and he is determined to keep fighting and get stronger with every day.
To find out more about the trivia night or to purchase tickets visit the Hawkesbury Community Outreach Services Facebook page.
