What is it that propels some of us to go on when we think all is lost? From IA founder Dave Donovan comes an incredible, harrowing and life-affirming story of survival.
I'd severed my trachea. My lungs instantly collapsed. I was in a pretty bad way.
This interview details the incredible journey of a 16-year-old Dave Donovan who suffered an horrific motorbike accident while working alone on his family's vast and remote cattle station near Longreach, Southern Queensland, on the edge of the Great Dividing Range.
My first thought was, 'Oh, bugger it, I've killed myself'. And for about I don't how long, I just laid down in the dust and sort of gave up. I just thought I was dead.
It's a distressing and, at times, humourous tale of suffering, courage, tenacity and endurance. Today, David's slightly laboured breathing is the main physical legacy of the accident, during which the injuries he sustained included severing his throat on a barbed-wire fence and that, in all likelihood, should have killed him. It is a courageous story of sheer determination and it is also a testament to the vital work of the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
I could barely get any breath in ... I didn't have any hope. I didn't have any energy. All I wanted to do ... was to show that I tried, to save myself.
Listen to the Royal Flying Doctor Service's Lana Mitchell interview Dave Donovan on YouTube on Soundcloud HERE:
Listen on YouTube HERE:
You may follow Independent Australia founder and director David Donovan on Twitter @davrosz. Follow Independent Australia on Twitter @independentaus and on Facebook HERE.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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