Rugby College: Injured rugby league player Curtis, 15, takes first steps on road to recovery ...

Curtis Landers was severely injured in footy accident at the weekend

On Friday his breathing tube was removed and replaced with a mask and he’s taking slow steps towards recovery

A Facebook group has been established as a place for many communities to show support and donate to the family

By

Freya Noble

Published:

10:24, 30 May 2014

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Updated:

12:55, 30 May 2014

Curtis Landers has made his first step on the road to recovery after a tragic rugby league accident at the weekend

Community groups have banded together on social media in the hopes they can raise much needed funds to support a 15-year-old who was severely injured playing rugby league in Port Macquarie at the weekend.

Curtis Landers is hospital bound for the unforeseeable future, unable to eat or drink and there are concerns about whether he will ever walk again.

However on Friday he took his first step in long road to recovery, when the tube which was helping him breathe was removed.

The Forster teenager is still in a serious but stable condition at Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital after he was flown from Port Macquarie to undergo surgery.

A Facebook group has been established by family and friends of Curtis, providing updates on his progress and details on where people can donate money and gifts to.

On Friday they posted: ‘Curt has taken a big step today, the tube is now out and he has a mask on if he keeps going well they will leave it out. Great support guys keep it up!!!’

A day earlier the group, Curtis Landers: A Road To Recovery, announced that he was being weaned off the ventilator, which has now been successful.

The have also set up a bank account and a few central locations where well-wishers can contribute donations, using this to consolidate the community groups who are all pitching in to help Curtis’ family.

Support has poured in from people in Gloucester, where the family previously lived as well as friends in Forster, and all around NSW.

The principal of Great Lakes College Graeme Jennings told the Sydney Morning Herald their whole school community had been impacted by the news of this terrible accident.

‘Heâ€™s a lovely boy, a very, very talented sports person, very polite, very well mannered and well respected by friends,’ Mr Jennings said.

Curtis is said to have a bright future in the NRL and support has also come from Nine’s The Footy Show and radio personality Ray Hadley.

$The 15-year-old could be in hospital for the next 12 months after fracturing his c2 and c3 vertebrates in his neck$

The 15-year-old could be in hospital for the next 12 months after fracturing his c2 and c3 vertebrates in his neck

A member of the commitee set up to support the Landers family Warren Blisset told the publication he wasn’t surprised by the support as Curtis is highly regarded in the close knit rugby league community.

‘Like with Alex McKinnon, itâ€™s way too early to determine whether he will be able to walk again. Thereâ€™s rehab and swelling and surgery and the likelihood of knowing could be many months away. Thereâ€™s a long way to go,’ Mr Blissett said.

Just two months ago, Newcastle Knights player Alex McKinnon, 22, suffered a similar injury when he fractured his c4 and c5 vertebrae, and now Curtis is staying on the floor below him in hospital.

Curtis fractured two vertebrae in his neck when he made a tackle during a junior game at Port Macquarie last Saturday.

The teen is said to have a bright future in the NRL and his school

The teen is said to have a bright future in the NRL and his school’s principal said the community are all shocked by the accident

The 15-year-old gained movement in his arms following the operation but he is still unable to move both of his legs. He is now using a tube to help him breathe after his broken c2 and c3 vertebrae placed pressure on his spinal cord and diaphragm.Â

Aaron Temple, president of Curtis’ football club Forster-Tuncurry Hawks, said his stint in hospital would be long-term.

‘He’s looking at 12 months in hospital,’ he told MailOnline.

Curtis’ parents, Kevin and Marie, are understood to be struggling with news of their son’s accident.

‘His father is just beside himself. They did everything together, they were very close. They are taking it very tough,’ Mr Temple said.