Donations and words of support and encouragement continue to pour in for a Williams Lake family, whose son was badly injured in a mountain bike crash in Boitanio Bike Park Friday night (June 11).
Cam Prest, 19, was biking in the park with friends. It was dark and he misjudged one of the jumps and landed on his head at the base of a jump, said family who started a GoFundMe Sunday morning.
The force of the crash burst two vertebrae in his thoracic spine and Cam was airlifted from Williams Lake to Vancouver General Hospital for medical treatment. Doctors performed surgery Saturday, installing four pins and two plates to replace the vertebrae.
“He has no feeling at this point and the doctors say there’s a good chance he may not walk again,” notes the GoFundMe. “But they also say they have seen miracles.”
Cam’s parents, Erin and Keith Prest, are in Vancouver with him currently, while his younger three siblings are home with family in Williams Lake.
Cam, who was well-known and well-loved as a talented hockey player and referee within the Williams Lake Minor Hockey Association during his years there, graduated from Lake City Secondary School in 2020. This spring he had just started working his second season as a firefighter at the Cariboo Fire Centre.
He is expected to remain at Vancouver General Hospital for the next three weeks, before being transferred to GF Strong where he will stay for three months or so.
A GoFundMe called Support for Cam Prest and Family, which was started Sunday morning, has already surpassed its original goal of $15,000, with $17,575 raised by Sunday evening. A new goal of $25,000 has been set.
Family and friends are also preparing a care package to send to Vancouver Monday for Cam and his parents.
Through a family spokesperson, the Prests thanked the community for the ongoing support and prayers offered to their family at this most difficult time.
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