Leanne Cattanach, 46, suffers spinal injuries falling from Tocumwal cliff on Murray River

A Hoppers Crossing mother endured a truly freakish accident while on a camping trip to the Murray River with her family. Now she’s trying to pick up the pieces “one day at a time”.

Leanne Cattanach, 46, suffered spinal injuries, fractured ribs, collapsed lung after falling on a family camping trip at Tocumwal over Easter.

A heroic family managed to keep their mum alive for hours while they waited for her to be extracted from the water after she fell from a cliff near the Murray River while on holiday.

Leanne Cattanach, 46, fell off a Tocumwal cliff on Easter Saturday while camping with family on the long weekend.

Ms Cattanach suffered multiple broken vertebrae, damage to her spinal cord, three fractured ribs and a collapsed lung.

Doctors have told her she is ‘Category B’ – meaning she has a slim chance of being able to walk again.

Ms Cattanach has been overwhelmed with the support of her three daughters.

“I was literally warming myself by the fire and did not realise the edge was that close,” she said.

Just like that, Ms Cattanach slipped and fell 5mm into debris and then into the Murray River.

Leanne Cattanach may never walk again from the injuries she sadly suffered as a result of a “freakish” fall at Tocumwal.

Her eldest daughter “slid down” to get her along with her daughter’s partner, where they held her head out of the water while she was choking.

It took nearly three hours before Ms Cattanach was finally out of the water, and with no helicopters, she was driven to Shepparton, before spending time in the Alfred and Austin in Melbourne.

Ms Cattanach said the family had finally been able to a trip together as she had got the weekend off work but now they’re plagued with “what ifs”.

She said she had received overwhelming support since her fall but was being kept busy with visitors, doctors and therapists.

Leanne Cattanach is grateful for the support of her family and friends.

“The support from my daughters means a lot … Mick’s just been amazing,” she said.

Ms Cattanach, an assistant manager at a local pub, will be unable to work in her previous capacity.

Despite doctors telling her she has a slim chance of walking again, she has already had a “significant moment” in her recovery — moving from a motorised wheelchair to a manual one.

“One day at time,” she said.

A GoFundMe has been set up to support Leanne’s road to recovery.