A teen has finally returned home for the first time since falling more than 240 feet into a ravine. The incident happened on July 30, landing the teen in the hospital for several months.
Dakota "Cody" Trenkle Jr. is speaking out after fighting for his life. The 13-year-old fell into a ravine while skateboarding in Goose Creek Lake. The resulting injuries left him with brain bleeds, head trauma, weakened kidneys, and fractures on his skull. His injuries were so severe doctors placed him in a medically induced coma for weeks.
Speaking with People, Dakota and his mother describe what life has been like since the fall into the ravine.
"I am hopeful to return to school in the very near future, and I am counting down the days until I can skateboard again, but I know my brain and skull need to heal," Dakota says.
Teen Survives Fall Into Ravine
His mother also spoke with the outlet about his progress.
"Cody has been doing so well since coming home from the hospital," Stephanie says. "He does still have some struggles physically with balance, coordination, and strength as well as some short-term memory loss. He gets pretty frustrated with both, but we are taking the necessary steps to help him make a full turnaround and get back to being 100% Cody. He has quite the extensive therapy and follow-up schedule."
Still, he has a long road to recovery ahead of him, which consists of physical therapy twice a week and various doctors' appointments. After his medically induced coma, he could only use sign language, but he let his mother know he loved her.
"That moment was pivotal to me. It's made the last couple weeks of stress, heartache, hope, gratitude, sadness, and pain worth it because that small gesture meant my boy was coming back to me," she said.
