TABLELANDS couple Mario and Jodie Cocco were faced with every parent's worst nightmare when they were told their young son had suffered a severe traumatic brain injury after crashing his quad bike.
Domenic was just seven years old when he got on a quad bike without a helmet and without any formal training.
But after a period of time in hospital, he thankfully began to recover and was able to return home.
Mr and Mrs Cocco are now safety advocates for Workplace Health and Safety Queensland and last week hit the ground at the Rotary FNQ Field Days in Mareeba to share their story.
The couple held a series of presentations in the Rotary Business Tent during the three-day event.
"There have been lots of questions from families about the accident, what happened and what training they should supply to their children," Mr Cocco said.
"It's been going really well."
And though the Cocco family have left the accident far behind them, the memories of how it affected them remain vivid.
"It still is very emotional almost seven years later ... it always brings it back to home," Mrs Cocco said.
"It's extremely important to get this message out to other families. Quad bikes are everyday farm vehicles and whether you're on the farm or it's recreational, you need to know how to operate one.
"It's so important as we found with Domenic's injuries. It was primarily a severe traumatic brain injury, he wasn't wearing a helmet at the time.
"His injuries might have been lessened that little bit more if he was wearing a helmet."
Mrs Cocco said Domenic was now 14 years old and "fighting fit" and "living life to the fullest".
"He's recovered and doing well - he's a very lucky boy," she said.
Nick Henle and his family attended one of the Coccos' presentations. Mr Henle is now going to take steps to further educate his young children about quad bike safety.
He said he recently built a quad bike with his 12-year-old son James and it was vital he was well educated before riding.
"I'm really glad we had that experience together to get to know every part of the quad bike," he said.
"I feel there's not enough safety and education, you can just go and buy a quad bike and children are in it before you know it and the risk is quite great.
"We had a quad bike at home ... and seeing this presentation by local people really brings it home all that much more."
- Read the Rotary FNQ Field Days report inside the June 10 edition of the North Queensland Register.
