Teen survives after steel pole speared through skull | 60 Minutes Australia

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Liam Knight should not be alive today at a friend's 18th birthday party back in January a steel pole was speared straight through his skull two teenagers have been charged over the incident and the events of that night will soon be heard by a court tonight you'll see the story of Liam's amazing survival and recovery and a warning some of the pictures are graphic you see Liam was lying face down with a two and a half meter rod through his head paramedics emergency services trauma specialists and surgeons all combined to perform this miracle thank you everyone here for um for coming to Liam's birthday we're really stoked that he's here obviously and turning 18 is a big event in anyone's life a chance to learn for Tony Dane so tonight Liam Knight the youngest of four brothers is reaching that milestone okay ready you ready everyone okay if any family deserves a good party it's the Knights ten years ago Liam's father Trevor was almost killed by a stroke then in January this year Liam came oh so close to losing his life at another 18th birthday party verse 18 you know he was so excited because the very first 18 thought from all his friends and his face I just remember him running down the stairs with his long legs and you know taking the three steps at a time and and he's the smile on his face you know and and then giving me a hug and kiss and saying I'll see you later and I said ah give me give me a ring when you're at the end of the night and I'll come and get you what was the night like in office coats a good night good fun from what I can remember would you remember the actual moment no I remember that at all it's not something you wanna remember that impact anyway I know I'm thinking my brain like block that off block that out because if I remember that that would be I don't know how to cope with that yeah [Music] it was just before midnight at this home in Forestville on Sydney's North Shore when birthday celebrations began to sour a group of teenagers had arrived and things escalated out of control it all ended very brutally with Liam Knight left lying on the ground just over here and a two and a half metre long steel pole exactly like this one piercing straight through his skull [Music] this is the 3d image of the pole through Liam's skull it was incredible he survived the initial impact but keeping him alive was now the medical emergency ambulance officer Peter Brown was the first paramedic to respond and from the information he was getting who knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime call-out I was keeping an open mind as to what I might be confronted with but I was you know obviously I was thinking it was gonna be pretty pretty serious it took seven minutes to reach the party house in Forestville it only took a matter of seconds for Peter to appreciate the seriousness of Liam's injury so he's laying prone to facedown on the grass I think one arm left arm I've been up here in the right arm sort of down here some ways and this pole of over two and a half meters long is extending from roughly around the right temporal region there and resting against the fence at sort of a 45 degree angle or such and you could feel on the left side where it had broken the skull all the way through all the way through had gone through that the brain matter and then and through the scowl you must be thinking at that point how on earth is this kid alive oh what's its bit of a cliche but it was a miracle Peter Brown got to work quickly taking Liam's pulse rate and blood pressure so I might steal okay what's on its way okay it's relax I know you can't speak right but if you can hear us alright we're trying to help you up as best we can Liam was semi-conscious and agitated and needed sedation but if things weren't bad enough Hayden you there was no way Liam could fit into the ambulance with that steel pole sticking out of his head it would have to be cut off that job was given to fire and rescued New South Wales Tristan Khan did the cutting with Josh Holliday pouring water on the steel bar to minimize the damage hot steel would do to Liam's brain before we started we were all brainstorming and bouncing off each other everything we we wanted to make sure everything was covered because if someone was to rush in there and cut without cooling the rod you know it can heat up quite quickly and we didn't know how far it had gone through lambs skull so it's brooding stabilization yes stabilization is vibration through the rod it took a little over a minute to cut through the bar it was roughly about the time this was taking place but Neri not completely oblivious to the unfolding drama rang Liam's phone to arrange picking him up from the party somebody answered the phone and said I said how can I speak to lay him and I could hear all this noise in the background thinking it was music and I said to the person all you know put lame on plays and she said she was the police and I said oh yeah yeah sure no this is his mother can you put lay him on and she said no it is the police he's been hurt as the night family got ready to head into hospital every second mattered if Liam was going to survive so an emergency medical team raced to intercept Liam's ambulance we're gonna do an RSI guys so we're gonna pull him out the back of the truck we're gonna put another cannula in will do a kid dump dr. Jeff Healey of the New South Wales ambulance medical retrieval team caught up with paramedic Peter Brown halfway to the hospital when you saw him what was your most immediate thought ah my most immediate thought is he needs to go off to sleep he needs to have definitive control of his airway and he needs to have a rapid assessment in the operating theatre for his penetrating head injury there's nothing subtle about this roadside triage but it saves lives by radically reducing the time it takes to prepare the critically injured for surgery so we're going up to sleep it's time 1215 folks going in 150 ketamine okay so he's got to stop breathing in a second dr. Healy performed what's called rapid sequence induction of anesthesia meaning Liam was placed into an induced coma that means put him off to sleep putting a treating tube in to facilitate oxygen delivered to his brain and then package them up and get as much time saved to get him through that process as quickly as possible so to do all that we talked about 15 minutes which is very very quick within an hour of the trip Aloha call Liam arrived at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital it had gone like clockwork so far but dr. Jeff Healy's job wasn't over he had to inform Liam's family of the exact nature of the injury ah the family members are that were in a complete mess they were all there together there were tears what did you say I just told them a factual basis of what had happened what we're done for him why we'd done it and what I anticipate the next stage of the process is gonna be we all sat there saying what are you saying it went right through his head right he said yes it went through his brain and through his head and then when I saw the scan and the CT scan I just can't believe it I just looked at this scan as I said reality set in that it went right through his head right through the brain I'm thinking how could he be alive Liam's brothers Shane Kyle and Todd all thought the same thing I felt he was gone Dewhurst it was straight through his head the pole so you know just didn't think it off just froze I do remember this dropping to the ground and crying not not knowing what to think seeing our little brother you know who's such a positive happy happy-go-lucky got just laying there just being pumped by machines and that's that was just absolutely awful obviously we can see the bar coming in through the right-hand side and coming out through the left-hand side horrible injury to sustain and did that figure in your assessment on whether to go that way or this way absolutely yeah neurosurgeon Adam Fowler took over Liam's case consulting over the phone with the head of the department dr. Jonathan Parkinson I remember you know waking up and looking at these pictures and being just struck by the situation that we had we're obviously very concerned about how he was going to go because penetrating head injuries that usually the patients don't do very well at all and we were we were very you know very pessimistic about what the outcome might be just before he entered the operating theatre Adam Fowler spoke with Liam's parents I really struggled what do you tell these these poor parents they've seen their horribly injured son in that our heart of his life what do you tell them and I remember I just had to say he's horribly hurt and we'll do our best that's all there is to say and he said to us I'm going into surgery now with Liam I think it's best that you call all the family in it's not looking too good and I've ever had as a mum react I felt my whole world had fallen apart but then I looked at the doctor and he looked at us and he said I'm sorry to tell you this he you know I can't sugarcoat what I'm telling you and he put his head down and I I just felt like he was just devastated as what we are coming up Liam's nerves of steel he was alive it had to come out because I mean one why let's back out his family's bedside vigil did you allow yourself to think that he's not gonna make it no the moment he woke up then he looked at me he spoke and he said I wanna pee and back in the surf [Music] I got no words for Isis I mean or to the amazement of paramedics and doctors liam was still alive but if he was to have any chance of a future surgeons had to do something that never done before now we'll take you inside the operating theater and a warning the pictures are graphic as a team of specialists tries to get that massive piece of steel out of Liam's head it's way past midnight at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital a neurosurgeon Adam Fowler is preparing for the riskiest operation of his career a kilogram of steel lies in Liam Knight skull and Adam has to remove it and at that point I was just aghast with the mess that this is created it dragged through a lot of one side of his head through to the other side of his head and cleaning that up took a while and then removing the bone to free up the bar the weight of the actual bar then became an issue because gravity is pretty unforgiving and it tends to want to pull things away and pull things down after approximately one hour the moment had come to extract the bar any movement either way could be catastrophic it was alive and had to come out there's only one real why and that's back out okay it's coming easily hairy-looking Dennis guy a guy still got a wider guy there we go so I got when you pulled it out was there some relief some measure of relief yeah I think I think everyone's sigh to be relief done more than main bar blood pressure dropped and my heart rate dropped which is good Williams stood stayed remarkably society was rock solid through it was really more the damage that it hadn't done it really hadn't seemed to affect the arteries or veins of the brain or the very important deep parts of the brain that that we know that when they're injured patients do very poorly Liam was out of surgery but not out of danger infection and brain swelling life-threatening risks did you allow yourself to think that he's not gonna make it and I have to say goodbye to him at some point no ever no no it was never something that I wasn't to you mind not an option [Music] day after day he lay in a coma family and friends keeping a constant vigil not knowing when or if Liam would wake up I needed them to just see him touch him and I think all that see all that touching or from all his friends his family I think a lot of that love helped him [Music] 12 days passed then Liam opened his eyes then he looked at me in he spoke and he said and he had a really croaky voice I want to go the toilet and I said what well that's not actually what he said What did he say hey you wanna pee and I was just so excited and then I called the nurses in and hey you guys I really want to paint I think the second thing I said was your breath stinks cuz she was trying to talk to him like a bit till I had I had sour cream and chilli sauce [Laughter] got a pea in your breasts things Wow that's emotional person you could see that his sense of humor and had really just come straight back out and you know he just looked by-and-large like a normal boy and and that wasn't something that when he first came into the hospital we were expected we were gonna see ya two or three weeks later got a great haircut as well yeah who did the haircut marry so you do the hair around the brain just what you do well it was a complete service you must feel enormous pride enormous relief Liam was alive and smiling but the pole damaged the part of the brain controlling movement down the entire left-hand side of his body reality kicked in I just kept thinking what am I gonna do like how am I gonna get better the thought of not being able to move physically yeah just I thought I was never gonna be able to just walk around talk properly because I couldn't talk properly at this stage I thought I couldn't do anything did you think at that point he's a little gonna be worth it struggling through yeah I questioned everything to be honest like I always thought one night here I just want a brother I wish I didn't wake up on the crime on one of the worse things yeah try and relax that left arm and your walk keep it down by your side for Liam it had to be a case of mind over matter keep it relaxed relax the arm biggest step at Sydney's royal rehabilitation center he began the long road back to mobility shot got right up had your left toe clearance is much better Liam literally had to learn how to walk again first bits the hardest big steps big steps that's good the only way I can look at it was that if I want to get better I just got to get on with it like let's all I want to do I didn't care about anything else I just wanted to get better that's why I I looked at it just to be positive the progression for you through this rehabilitation it's obviously been slow but what are you most proud of o being able to walk hell is that oh it's amazing you didn't think you got to walk again I had my doubts like we're not I couldn't even sit up by myself I remember I stopped for 10 seconds and I was I was that happy and that was only ten sitting for ten seconds and it's just those little things that just came back and and the night I didn't think I would walk again but I'm doing it right now down brought me down that's it around here was a strapping teenager urging his body to do the most basic of moves means progress has astounded all associated with his rehab but it hasn't always been smooth going seizures and fits I keep our an ever-present threat to victims of brain trauma I don't lie down lie down lie down right yeah come to me I didn't but oh well lie down lie down plan it's fitting it's fitting guys go to nurse every nurse hey Doc hey Doc nurse names fitting the vision of the seizure is very confronting why do you want that shown well just to show that what Lemes you know like our whole life has changed this what happened to Liam is reality in something we may have to accept and they're wrong keeps calling like mum and stop saying or legs better but then I realized that I still can't really walk that world can't I got I gotta have to be on anti-seizure tablets and I just wanted to show we just want to show everyone that I'm still got a long way to go and I'm not fully better yet [Music] mother and son have come a long way together on this journey that started in January with Mary fighting the conflicting emotions of Pride and pain go too fast I'm so proud where he's come but when I watch him walk it it breaks my heart to see him walking with such a disability because that day as I said when he came running out the door and he said bye bye mum I'm going and I'll see you later and he's running and doing all the things he used to do and when I watch him now I am proud he's alive and I'm the happiest mother on the world in the world so don't get me wrong but on the other hand I'm also heartbroken I'm heartbroken that he has to be like this and when he walks and he walks with that disability and he's struggling I don't like it but for all that anguish there's been moments of real triumph - like the day Liam went back to school in May with his mates shepherding his every step lien returned to st. Pius College in Sydney to resume studying for his HSC he's an inspiration in my opinion you know he's what he's gone through but how he's come out of it's been the biggest thing he's attitude is is inspiring you know most people would probably you know crack at at times and fair enough but he just gets on with it he's you know being Delta an ordinary hand and he's just played it of course it's not only students and teachers cheering for Liam so many others have been involved in not just saving his life but getting Liam back on his feet and it's still my ongoing hope that he's able to force this back in his memory to a time where it doesn't define his life where he goes on and we couldn't remember a time that he had an injury but he got better and that's the end of it you did everything you gave me a second chance oh just because your little star belong oh yeah yeah saving Liam's life has been a massive team effort [Music] there are all miracle workers from the ambulance to the fire brigade to the doctor all the doctors the nurses at ICU they were just beautiful beautiful people and now there are the physiotherapists and surf instructors who are taking up the campaign how much have you been looking forward to getting out there on the surf so stoked to get out his number-one aim has been to get back in the water surfing again [Music] they're watching on the shoreline a very anxious Vizier Suzanne Stacy like a proud mama actually it's like starting to work on someone's goal and see it happen in real life it's just amazing someone's getting a bit emotional can't believe it it's not all nice people it is our team's gonna be so um how I smash this is amazing [Music] come on bring it home bring it home I'm believing everything you thought it was gonna be everything you dream better so I got no words for it's just I'm in awe good man what's next standing up there's always a next step isn't that I yeah there's always down the step and true to his word Liam did get to his feet sure he has a way to go and no one knows it more than he does but this young man with the ever ready smile has already proven he really is made of steel [Music] what are your hopes for the future full recovery uh normal life normal life got back to normality get back the surfing try to work out what I want to do in life are you worried that this moment that happened to you will define you that you might be defined by what happened to you and that you're always gonna be that kid who had that pole through his head no no I still got a whole life ahead of me yeah I got a long time say I showed you other things I'll define me I think you will too yeah I know your mom thinks you will yeah he'll be someone special he already is hello I'm Liz Hayes thanks for watching to keep up with the latest from 60 minutes Australia make sure you subscribe to our channel you can also download the 9 now app for full episodes and other exclusives 60 minutes content

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Channel: 60 Minutes Australia

Views: 1,609,943

Rating: 4.8945646 out of 5

Keywords: 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes Australia, Liz Hayes, Charles Wooley, Tara Brown, Liam, Bartlett, Allison Langdon, Tom Steinfort, Liam Knight, survival, Australian, hero, recovery, skull, brain injury, science, medicine, head injury, miracle, luckiest people, luckiest man alive, steel pole, survived

Id: 4l6rLZUwFDA

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Length: 28min 27sec (1707 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 26 2018

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