19-year-old athlete fights for life after tragic accident
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A 19-year-old Sunshine Coast triathlete is fighting for life in hospital after a severe bicycle crash on the weekend.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Alexa Leary was out on her normal morning ride at Pomona on Saturday when she was seriously injured before being transported to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital where she remains in an induced coma.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The athlete suffered a fractured scapula, ribs, shoulder blade, and wrist, a major knee injury, and a collapsed lung. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Her family has been told she also suffered major brain damage, with blood clots discovered on her brain.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ms Leary, a competitive triathlete and trainer at F45 Noosa, has been described as “beautiful”, “bubbly”, and “strong”.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We are all feeling the effect of Alexa’s situation and it’s rocked us. We are trying to continue life as normal but under the smiles we are beyond broken,” F45 Noosa said in a post.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Her family are standing by … taking each moment she doesn’t decline as a mini victory.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We need to keep this family in our thoughts and prayers, they need us and we need Lex to pull through.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Lexi girl, you are stronger than you know, braver than us all and we totally know you will conquer this mountain. Come one Lexi, we are all waiting for you.”</span></p>
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<div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div>
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<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CLOYyLIBqEf/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by ALEXA LEARY ✨ (@alexaleary.tri)</a></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Her sister Maddy shared on Instagram that the blood clots were the biggest concern, with doctors initially saying they would try and treat them on Tuesday, July 20.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But, on Tuesday night Maddy said “they didn’t touch the blood clots today. They said maybe tomorrow, instead.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Alexa’s boyfriend, Will O’Dwyer, has posted images of his girlfriend alongside messages telling her to “stay strong my darling, I love you, you can do this”.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Belinda, Alexa’s mum, took to Facebook to share that doctors had to “take the risk” to give her daughter blood thinners, otherwise the clots “could take her life”.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Race Pace Coaching have described Alexa as “an awesome and tough athlete” who is “tenacious as they come”.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“She will need every ounce of her resilience over coming days and into the future with a long period of hospitalisation appearing inevitable,” the group said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Her brother Max described his sister as “a ray of sunshine” and said “the Leary household has never been so cold”.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“You have always been strong and it’s not fair how much s*** you have been through this year; but you have to keep fighting … We want our big sister back,” he said.</span></p>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Alexa Leary / Instagram</span></em></p>
