Ian Austin, The Province
Published: Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Patrick Hamill knows he's one incredibly lucky kid.

The 14-year-old Pitt Meadows in-line skater survived a 12-metre plunge off a railway overpass after losing control on a downhill stretch and flying right over the protective railing.

The Grade 9 student credits his skateboarding helmet with saving his life, and wants to make sure other kids wear lids.

"Even though people think it's uncool, they should wear helmets," Patrick said yesterday at his Pitt Meadows home, recuperating and in a wheelchair after 10 days in hospital with a broken arm, broken elbow and broken leg.

"Helmets can save you from doing lots of damage to yourself or your head."

Patrick's misadventure happened Aug. 30 on the railway overpass near Edith McDermott Elementary, as he attempted to make his descent down the sloping walkway.

"I couldn't slow down," said Patrick. "It goes down, and curves back, and goes down again.

"I tried to grab on to the fence.

"I hit it, and I flipped over it, and I tried to hang on, but I just couldn't.

"They say it's 39-feet high."

Patrick will never forget flying through the air, panic on his mind.

"I was freaking out -- it was scary. I thought I was going to be paralyzed."

Instead, he spent 10 days in hospital undergoing two operations, and now has a plate in his right arm and a 40-centimetre steel rod in his left leg.

Mother Cathie Hamill believes the helmet saved his life.

"There's no question in my mind -- absolutely," said Hamill. "If he hadn't had a helmet on, he could have been confined to a wheelchair for life or even be dead."

She was pleased with the message in an earlier Province story with the headline "In-line skater who fell probably alive due to helmet."

She used the Sept. 1 story as a real-life lesson when Patrick's soccer team visited him in hospital to cheer him up.

"I brought the helmet in to the hospital with The Province story," she recalled.

"I thought they needed to know. It's a lot more cool to be wearing a helmet than it is to be dead."

Even though Patrick hasn't been identified publicly until now, Hamill said well-wishers have responded with best wishes for her lucky son.

"I'd like to thank everybody for their phone calls, their e-mails, and their cards," she said.

"It helps us, and it helps Patrick with his recovery."

Hamill said her entire extended family is now very aware of helmets, whether it's for cycling, inline skating, skateboarding or snowboarding.

"Patrick has a cousin in Ireland, and she phoned us," said Hamill. "She said she was inspired by the helmet story, and said she was going to wear a helmet for all her activities, even around the house."

As for Patrick, an accomplished athlete, he can't wait for his injuries to heal so he can get back on the field.

"I spend my time watching TV and playing PlayStation," said Patrick, an energetic teen frustrated by being confined to a wheelchair.

"I won't be playing soccer, that's for sure. But I'm going to play lacrosse, hopefully, in March."

iaustin@png.canwest.com