After spending more than a month in the hospital recovering from a near-fatal fall, 13-year-old Dakota “Cody” Trenkle Jr. is finally back home with his family — and already looking forward to getting back on his skateboard.
Cody disappeared on July 27 while skateboarding around Goose Creek Lake in Missouri. After three tense days of searching, a police K-9 located him at the bottom of a ravine, 240 feet down, gravely injured. He was rushed by helicopter to a St. Louis hospital, where doctors placed him in a medically induced coma for two weeks.
The fall left Cody with severe head trauma, multiple skull fractures, several brain bleeds, kidney issues, and deep wounds across his body. His survival and progress since then has been described as remarkable.
By late August, just before Labor Day weekend, Cody was able to return home for the first time since the accident. Speaking about his recovery, the resilient teen said, “I am hopeful to return to school in the very near future and I am counting down the days until I can skateboard again, but I know my brain and skull need to heal.”
His mother, Stephanie Neely, says his determination has been inspiring, though challenges remain. “Cody has been doing so well since coming home from the hospital,” she explained. “He still struggles with balance, coordination, strength, and some short-term memory loss. He gets frustrated, but we are taking the necessary steps to help him get back to being 100% Cody.”
The teen now faces an intensive recovery plan, including physical therapy twice a week, occupational and speech therapy sessions, and ongoing appointments with neurologists, liver specialists, and psychiatric care providers.
Stephanie shared earlier that one of the most emotional moments in his journey came when Cody first woke up from his coma and used sign language to tell her, “I love you.” She called it a turning point: “That moment made all the stress, heartache, and fear worth it, because it showed me my boy was still with me.”
Despite the long road ahead, Cody’s spirit remains unshaken — and he’s counting down the days until he can roll back onto his skateboard.
