Sister Tori and parents Tony and Vanessa Bennett with Cooper after an horrific accident put him in hospital for 75 days.
Cooper Bennett is finally home. He and his family are grateful for the incredible support of their community.
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After the most frightening time of their lives, with their son Cooper in an induced coma for 10 days, well-known local business owners Tony and Vanessa Bennett are counting their blessings and thanking their community for all of the support they’ve had.
Earlier this year, Cooper, 27, was involved in a horrific accident, which caused him to be cut from his work vehicle.
He suffered terrible injuries and was put into an induced coma, spending almost three months in hospital.
“I was sitting in my office on a rainy Wednesday morning, when Cooper’s boss, Tyler Bonat rang informing us that Cooper had been involved in an accident in the ATF work truck between Rutherglen and Wodonga,” Tony said.
“At the time no further details were known but everything changed about 10 minutes later when I received a call from the Senior Seargent of the Wodonga Police.
“He told me that Cooper was being cut out of the truck and was either going to be flown to Melbourne or taken to Albury.
“The hardest thing I had to do was ring Vanessa and tell her all I knew at that stage.”
Cooper Bennett was very lucky to survive this car accident on a rainy day travelling between Rutherglen and Wodonga.
Due to the weather conditions and being unable to land the helicopter at the accident site, Cooper was taken to the emergency department at Albury Base Hospital.
“Ironically, this is where our daughter Tori works although she wasn’t working at the time,” Tony said.
“He had been placed into an induced coma, ultimately life support which he would be on for the next 10 days.
“There were more than 20 emergency staff in and around the room, so we knew things were dire.”
After several hours being stabilised, Cooper was flown directly to Melbourne.
He’d suffered a broken neck, six broken ribs, a broken back, shattered pelvis, both legs were shattered below the knee, his ankles and a toe were broken, a lung collapsed and his spleen damaged.
“On reflection, celebrating the small wins demonstrated the shift in mindset about what's most important to us,” Tony said.
“It highlighted how tightly we were clinging onto hope that he would be okay.”
One of the best days in Cooper’s 75-day stay in hospital was a visit from his canine companion, Reggie. Cooper is now home and on the mend, though his journey is not yet over.
Cooper danced with death twice more in ICU.
He developed large blood clots in the main section of his lungs, resulting in acute damage to his heart, then had a massive anaphylactic reaction to a medication during a major surgery.
It was three days before he was stable enough for the medical team to confidently and safely operate again.
“Unbelievably, within two hours of coming out of the coma he was having a full conversation,” Tony said.
Fast forward, and after 10 days on life support and 75 days in hospital, Cooper is now home and the Bennett family and Cooper’s friends couldn’t be happier.
After eight weeks in the Epworth Rehabilitation Centre, his first big win was being able to finally remove the neck brace.
Then came to ability to weight bare.
“All in all, he is still with us, and for this we are extremely lucky, or blessed, call it what you like,” Tony said.
“Some say he was unlucky, but we believe he was lucky.
“To visit the rehab centre, you get to see what unlucky is, but again, they are all still alive.
“You wouldn’t wish any of those situations on your worst enemies.”
While going through the unimaginable, the Bennett family received incredible support from their local community, for which they are eternally grateful.
“The phone calls, messages, visits, gifts and prayers have totalled into the thousands, and we have appreciated every single one of them,” Tony said.
“To say we are lucky to have lived in Yarrawonga / Mulwala for more than 30 years is an understatement.”
There is still a long road ahead with more surgeries and continual rehab, but Cooper is alive and he’s home with his family and friends. His determination has shown through in a remarkable rehabilitation.
Tony said that ultimately, it was a timely reminder just how quickly things can change, and that you never know what’s around the corner.
“Cooper is still with us; those who know him, know he is very determined and this has been shown in his remarkable rehab,” he said.
“It is still a long road ahead with continual rehab and numerous operations down the track, but what he has on his side is time.
“Please give your kids a kiss and a hug and tell them you love them, because they could be taken from you in the blink of an eye; we came very close.
“Remind them to remain vigilant, especially those who are on the road either as a driver or passenger.”
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