Brotherly love: twin plays crucial role in helping Carlo get back on his feet

The mother of a boy who suffered brain injuries after he was knocked off his bike at a busy ferry terminal has told of his twin brother’s sorrow and has called for a clampdown on illegal parking in the area.

Twins Enrique and Carlo Medina are slowly learning to rebuild their lives after a bicycle accident near Redland Bay’s ferry terminal in April.

The mother of a boy who suffered brain injuries after he was knocked off his bike at a busy ferry terminal has told of his twin brother’s sorrow and has called for a clampdown on illegal parking in the area.

Cindy Medina said her 14-year-old son, Carlo, was a different person after being knocked off his bike when hit by a car in April and then spending 140 days in hospital.

Life-saving surgery was performed to stem bleeding and pressure on his brain.

Chest injuries affected his breathing and a plate was inserted into his leg bone.

Carlo was riding his bicycle on Moores Rd, near the Weinam Creek ferry terminal at Redland Bay on Good Friday when he was hit by a car driven by an elderly driver.

No charges have been laid and police said the driver had not seen Carlo because there were cars parked on the side of the road.

Twins Enrique and Carlo Medina have always shared a close bond and now both are learning to reshape their lives after Carlo was injured in a bicycle accident in April.

Ms Medina has vowed to highlight the dangers of the road to cyclists and push Redland City Council to fix the parking issue.

The carparking problem was highlighted this month when a roadside vigilante stuck notices to car windows telling them they would cop a police fine for illegally parking on the roadside, after Carlo’s accident.

Last month, Carlo returned to his Ormiston home, where he is learning how to walk and talk again under the careful guidance of a physiotherapist and his twin brother Enrique, a student at Cleveland District State High.

The family after Carlo returned to his Ormiston home.

Ms Medina spoke of her grief at the loss of her once-boisterous son and the effect his suffering has had on his twin, who is helping Carlo pick up the pieces of his former life and learn to live again.

“It’s been an awful year for my family,” Ms Medina said.

“While we don’t have the same child anymore, I am forever grateful that we still have him.

“We have been grieving the loss of the child we had and coming to terms with our new boy.

“This has been so hard on all of us but mostly on his twin brother, Enrique.

“They have had the strongest bond since the day they were born and have had the same group of friends, the same bedroom and have done everything together from sports to school.

“This year, Enrique has had to face many milestones at school without Carlo, who was the happy-go-lucky twin before the incident.

“Now their dynamic has changed and it’s almost like they have changed roles and Carlo is very serious.

Cars parked near the Redland Bay ferry terminal, near to the site where Carlo was knocked off his bike.

“Something needs to be done on that road so no other family has to go through the nightmare that we are currently living.”

Ms Medina said Carlo cannot talk louder than a whisper after his vocal chord was paralysed and speaking was “a massive struggle” for him.

A physiotherapist visits Carlo each day and together they work on getting the teen mobile again.

The incident also had a financial toll with Ms Medina forced to cut back her work at Sheldon College where she is in child care to look after Carlo and take him to daily appointments.

Ms Medina said many people had helped the family during the crisis and now that Carlo had returned home and needed someone with him all the time.

“The generosity and kindness of strangers to us since Carlo’s accident has been overwhelming and we thank all who have helped.”