Brave Cory on the mend
TRY telling crash victim Cory Duncan he won't be back at school in February.
Three months after his life hung in the balance and two months since surgeons warned he might never walk or talk again, the gritty Cairns boy is staging a fightback that has surgeons marvelling at his strength and willpower.
Cory, 12, could be out of hospital this month.
"We can’t believe it – we were expecting April or later," his emotional mother, Donna Bormann, said.
The single mum has kept a vigil at Cory’s bed since he suffered head and spinal injuries in a head-on collision at the small Tableland town of Tarzali, southwest of Cairns, in September.
Doctors prepared her for the worst.
"There was a long period of time when we didn’t think he’d make it," Ms Bormann said.
"Then we didn’t know what condition he would be in if he did."
Cory is now walking, talking and planning his homecoming.
The Freshwater State School graduate said speech therapy, physiotherapy and other kinds of rehabilitation were steps along the way, but he still had double-vision to contend with.
"I’m just really determined," he told The Cairns Post. "I’m always one step ahead of them. I can’t wait to get home."
A huge fundraising effort has swelled the family’s hearts when it comes to their hometown and its residents.
Close family friend Anna Obodin handed over a $24,000 cheque on Tuesday – the result of a fundraising effort in Cairns.
Cory thanked "Anna and everyone".
He said motorbike riding and catching up with mates were his incentive, months after the horror crash on his way home from riding at his uncle’s property.
"It could be a while before I get back up there on a bike but it’ll happen," he said.
To donate to the Cory Duncan Foundation, contact Anna Obodin on 0411 965 259.
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On the mend: Cory Duncan, 12, with Anna Obodin, who presented him with a $24,000 cheque after a fundraising campaign.
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