Fundraiser for Nyngan teen Summer Cook's medical expenses after serious motor vehicle accident

Summer's mother, Kasey Ryan, said the image of her "baby girl on the hospital bed in Nyngan covered in blood" will give her nightmares when she returns home from the hospital in Sydney.

Summer, 15 years old, was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident on Sunday, April 16, on Merryanbone Road, Canonba, nine kilometres north of Reedy Corner. Nyngan Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

READ ALSO: Nyngan's dynamic duo lead Tiger cubs to victory in grand final rematch

Summer, who has been described by her family as "bubbly" and "sociable", is in a stable condition in ICU at Westmead Children's Hospital in Sydney, where doctors are doing tests to confirm the extent of her injuries and also monitoring for signs of stroke.

Summer's cousin, Mitch Cobcroft, told the Daily Liberal Summer had "too many injuries to be able to handle all tests on the same day".

"The extent of her injuries is still not fully known, especially in relation to injuries to the brain," Mr Cobcroft said on Thursday, April 20.

"Summer has multiple fractures across her body, including her pelvic area, multiple vertebrae fractures and multiple skull fractures. Summer also has whole-of-body bruising and grazes across her body."

Summer, an outgoing and confident girl, worked as a roustabout in the shearing industry and worked nights at the local Chinese restaurant.

Mr Cobcroft said she was "quite well known in town because she always goes out of her way to say hello to everyone".

READ ALSO: Calls for state-wide water audit in wake of Walgett issues

He said Summer would "help anyone out if they needed a babysitter or something done for no other reason than it was the right thing to do".

"Summer is very independent and she wanted to have control of her future and went out and found herself work in the shearing industry," Mr Cobcroft said.

"Summer is well-liked by her work colleagues for her hard work ethic and always cheerful demeanour. Summer had plans to learn wool classing but this incident has put a stop to that for the immediate future."

A GoFundMe fundraising page was set up by family friend and Dubbo resident Peter McFarland for Summer, and the community is invited to pitch-in to assist Summer's family with travel and medical costs during Summer's long recovery.

At time of publication, almost $5000 had been raised towards the fundraising goal of $20,000 which will be needed to support Summer getting to Dubbo from Nyngan and accessing rehabilitation care, including fuel and accommodation, and specialist equipment for mobility.

Summer's mother, Ms Ryan, along with her nan Anne Cook, and aunties Tamika Ryan and Alahna Ryan, have been with Summer at her bedside at Westmead since the incident. Her nan, Ms Cook, flew down with Summer in the air ambulance and her mum, Ms Ryan, followed on a domestic flight.

IN OTHER NEWS

"They are both physically tired and emotionally exhausted, especially with the unknowns of Summer's condition in these early days," Mr Cobcroft said.

Summer's family thanked the community for their calls, messages and offers of support. They also thanked the hospital staff at Westmead and the nursing staff at Nyngan Hospital.

Mr Cobcroft said Summer's family wanted "this tragedy to send a message to the young kids that your whole life can be changed in an instant".

"Be safe and think about your actions and how that could potentially affect others," he said.