Spare a thought tonight for heroic Jamberoo nipper Jhy McFarlane, who is recovering in a Sydney hospital after a horrific boating accident.
Jhy has already missed his Year 6 formal and is banned from his beloved sports for 12 months while he recovers from multiple injuries resulting from an incident on the Shoalhaven River last month.
But none of that hurts as much as missing tonight's Green Day concert in Sydney.
Jhy McFarlane in speedboat crash
Brave Kiama kid's ripping retrievalJhy saved his pocket money for months to pay for a ticket to the punk rockers' 21st Century Breakdown World Tour gig.
But instead of rocking out at Acer Arena, he will remain confined to the high- dependency ward at Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, with several days' worth of neurological tests to pass before he is released.
"He saved like mad for the ticket, it's devastated him," Jhy's mother Sarina McFarlane said.
"I think he cried more about that than anything."
Jhy, 12, required 27 stitches to his head after the ski biscuit he and a friend were riding collided with a boat towing a wakeboarder on November 29.
He suffered a collapsed lung and a broken shoulder, and it was five days before doctors declared him out of the woods.
Being banned from sports comes as a tough blow for the Sts Peter and Paul Catholic School Kiama student, who plays sport six days a week and was hoping to travel to New Zealand to play rugby next year.
The energetic member of Kiama Nippers made headlines in January when, while on holiday in Byron Bay, he paddled 500m from shore to save an 11-year-old girl from a treacherous rip.
Mrs McFarlane said Jhy's spirits had been buoyed by recent visits from members of his cricket team, AFL club and school.
She appealed for anyone with information about the accident to contact Sydney Water Police, who are continuing investigations.
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