Heroic Dad Left Seriously Injured
A father has been injured trying to save his young son, having fallen from a first-floor balcony onto a cement driveway.
Heroic Brad Lewis, 42, was happily playing with his son Oscar at a friend’s house in Sydney earlier this month when the incident took place.
Oscar had shot a few Nerf gun bullets at his dad, but they missed and went over the balcony – prompting the youngster to chase after them to see where they had gone.
Brad spotted Oscar losing his balance and begin to tumble over the railing, meaning the quick-thinking dad had to lunge after his son, grabbing him.
The momentum of Brad’s body meant they both ended up going over the balcony, but Brad pinned Oscar to his chest in a bid to take the brunt of the fall.
Oscar was left with a fractured skull and suffered ‘a few other minor injuries’, but has since been released from hospital.
Brad, however, wasn’t so lucky, and sustained major head and neck injuries – which were so bad that doctors were stunned that he made it out alive.
When the accident happened, Brad’s friend Beau recalls that all Brad could say was ‘Are the kids okay?’, and, drifting in and out of consciousness: ‘Don’t let me die, mate’.
His family and friends have since set up a GoFundMe pageto raise money for Brad’s ongoing treatment.
They wrote: “Brad’s recovery will likely take 6-12 months or more.
“As the days go by, the realisation of this new reality and the financial implications it will have on the family are just beginning to set in.
“Brad’s wife, Suz, has taken leave from her new job to care for the family – but the household bills and mortgage repayments keep rolling in.”
They added: “And, when Brad does return home, there will be the requirement for in-house care solutions, housework assistance, childcare etc. And, as Brad will be unable to drive for a long period of time, there will still be ongoing travel costs to ferry him to medical appointments and the boys to school and their activities.
“The last thing the Lewis family needs right now is financial stress. We are looking to raise $150,000 to cover as many of these costs as possible for a period of 12 months.”
In a later update, they explained that son Oscar is ‘recovering slowly’ with a fractured skull.
