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Bed-bound in hospital with a neck brace on, Robert Reeves says he’s lucky.
“Many people could have had that exact same thing happen to them and have died but I’m lucky enough to walk away with minor injuries really,” he told 9News.
The 16-year-old plummeted 10 metres down a cliff face while hiking with friends at the Old Barrington Quarry yesterday afternoon.
“As I was climbing down, all the rocks shot out from under me,” he said.
“I fell down and started tumbling and bouncing my way down, all the way down the cliff and into the water.”
Somehow able to stand, his first thought was to look for his phone, while two members of the public rushed to help.
“I’d just like to say thank you: you guys could have saved my life,” Reeves said to his rescuers.
The rescue helicopter loaded Reeves onto a stretcher and winched him to safety.
“My first thought was, ‘How much is that going to cost?’,” he laughed.
He was flown to Royal Perth Hospital, where he’s being treated with his family by his side.
His father today calm but admitted yesterday he was in panic mode.
“Every possible scenario went through our head,” Steven Reeves said.
Robert is awaiting further scans, where the full extent of his injuries will be revealed but hospital staff are confident he will make a full and fast recovery.
The teen’s advice for anyone taking to the wilderness is: “Don’t go alone.”
“Don’t do what I did, don’t go so close to the edge – be with someone you know you can trust to help you,” Reeves said.
