TRADIE WAKES
HOPE FOR FALL VICTIM
GOLD Coast father David Conway fell 20 metres from a construction site on his daughter Keisha’s seventh birthday – the little girl he lives for.
The fall devastated Mr Conway’s body and was heard as far away as County Dublin, from where his family have flown to be by his side.
“He’s completely focused (on his daughter), he works hard for his family and then he comes home,” said Mr Conway’s older brother Stephen.
“They had her birthday party on the Saturday before (the fall).”
Mr Conway was put into a coma by paramedics following his fall at a Varsity Lakes construction site on Monday last week.
The 37-year-old, who has worked in Australia for about 15 years, remains in a serious condition at Gold Coast University Hospital.
His family, including his wife Viv, parents Connie and Shay and brothers Stephen and Ritchie, are a constant presence at his bedside. Keisha has visited her dad just once. Stephen said she was too young to understand the seriousness of Mr Conway’s condition.
“We keep getting upset with setbacks but we have to remember he’s alive and we didn’t think he should be,” Stephen said.
“We don’t know whether he’s going to be able to walk again, work again, he could be in the hospital for more than a year, we just don’t know.
“It’s just mind-blowing.” Mr Conway has remained unconscious except for a moment of lucidity when he woke upon hearing his father’s voice this week.
“He woke up for my mum and dad, he said ‘can you hear me?’ And he opened his eyes like he was shocked to see him like, and then he slipped back into a sedated state,” Stephen said.
“We said ‘Jesus Christ! This is big’, he squeezed his hand – it was the first time I’ve seen my mum smile in a week, she was beaming.
“There’s so much to be happy about, but so much to be concerned about. You’re asleep one minute and then you’re wrecked for the whole night.”
Mr Conway’s family visited the Alder Constructions Lakefront Cres site while it was closed shortly after arriving on Thursday last week.
“It looks high from the street but it’s not until you get up there (you see just how high it is),” Stephen said. “I couldn’t believe it.” Workplace Health and Safety is investigating the incident. Work resumed on the site on Monday.
Family and friends of Mr Conway in Ireland have created a crowd-funding website at youcaring.com to help with his recovery.
WE DON’T KNOW WHETHER HE’S GOING TO BE ABLE TO WALK AGAIN, WORK AGAIN, HE COULD BE IN THE HOSPITAL FOR MORE THAN A YEAR, WE JUST DON’T KNOW
STEPHEN CONWAY