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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Damien Edgar

Teenager 'fighting every day' after motorcycle crash

The mum of a teenager who suffered more than 200 breaks in a motorcycle collision says he's "a fighter" as he continues his recovery.

Dillon Irvine is still relying on a ventilator and is facing numerous surgeries following the accident on the Houston Road, South Belfast, on Tuesday June 7.

"It's like Groundhog Day, you spend all day and all night just praying he's going to pull through another day," his mum Jaynette told Belfast Live.

Read more: Teenager in ICU after suffering more than 200 breaks in collision

"He's still on the ventilator and stuff, still a lot of surgeries and that to go this week, but there's just no change.

"You just have to stay strong, he's really fighting for us, so we have to fight for him.

"That fight he's always had in him is definitely pulling him through, he's showing us all what real strength looks like."

Jaynette said Samantha and her family have been "amazing" (Supplied)

The 18-year-old has already had numerous intensive surgeries at the Royal Victoria Hospital, with a team working to keep him alive in the immediate aftermath of the collision.

"He has plates everywhere, rods in his arms and legs, so many pins in his legs because the whole right side of his body was just crashed," Jaynette said.

"So they're just trying their best with the rods and pins and plates to put his wee self back again."

Jaynette said the Belvoir family have found it hard to adjust to Dillon not being at home, particularly his brother Scott.

"They're very close, there's only a year between them, so they've never been used to being away from each other for more than two days," she said.

Dillon with girlfriend Samantha and brother Scott with his girlfriend Molly (Supplied)

"His brother's finding it really hard being without him and I'm sure Dillon will be finding it really hard up there at the hospital being without him.

"We're such a close wee family, we're always together."

Jaynette said she had been overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers who had messaged or contributed to a fundraiser for him.

"The messages, even from people we don't know, have been unbelievable," she added.

"You get people messaging from all over the place just to say, 'look I know you don't know me, but I just want you to know, my family's praying for Dillon', it's unbelievable how kind people have been to even do that.

"I have to say as well, the paramedics and the air ambulance, the amount of work they done to save my son's life.

"And the surgeons, the 10 hours they operated on his heart and they would not give up on him, as a family we can't thank them enough for what they've done to save my son."

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