Photo: Douglas Sacha / Moment / Getty Images
Earlier this month, 13-year-old Dakota “Cody” Trenkle Jr was rescued after surviving a 240-foot fall into a ravine and spending over three days alone without food or water. It was K9 Daryl from the Farmington Correctional Center who finally located the teen in a foot of water with severe injuries, including brain bleeding and pneumonia.
He was airlifted to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St Louis, where he spent 11 days in a medically induced coma before waking this past Friday. His mother, Stephanie Neely, describes the moment she knew her son was going to recover, when he signed “I love you” to her, a family tradition. In the following days, the teen surprised his physical therapist by throwing a ball, passed a breathing trial, and was taken off the ventilator.
Cody has a long road to being fully recovered, but he’s already started physical therapy and is improving. His mother says his resilience is nothing new, that he was born prematurely and fought for his life then. The teen faces months of rehabilitation, but he has the support of his family and community, and he’s determined to get better.
Source: KSDK