On October 30 last year Tarj fell about 30 metres down a cliff when the family was returning home from a hike out to Gerringong Falls.

That morning, Tarj was excited to see family members who had been isolated from each other because of local government area lockdowns.

"He was so happy," his mum Stacy said.

"But the best day in a long time turned out to be the worst."

After a full day hiking and swimming the family was walking back along the bush track when Stacy's brother called out "Tarj has gone over the edge".

"Had he fallen five metres on either side it wasn't an edge, it was a hill," Stacy said.

"I made sure we stayed away from cliff edges all day, because I'm not good with heights. He just fell in the wrong spot."

It would be seven hours before Tarj was able to receive life-saving care in hospital; the first miracle, dad Darren said, was that he survived that long.

"The doctors told us he had a one or two per cent chance of survival," Darren said.

"But he survived 25 days on life support without getting pneumonia.

"They didn't think he would come off the ventilator, but he did.

"They didn't think he would get the trachea out, but he did.

"He's our miracle boy."

Stacy and Darren said watching Tarj in hospital was one of the hardest things they had ever done.

"You can't describe the feeling of pain," Darren said.

"You couldn't be anywhere else, you couldn't do anything but hold his hand or cuddle him and talk to him.

"We didn't leave him alone for one minute."

After three months Tarj woke up.

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Doctors said he would likely be in a vegetative state for the rest of his life, but once again, Tarj proved them wrong.

For months he applied himself to all the rehab he was given in hospital - his parents said they would catch him practising when he was meant to be sleeping.

But after several more months they knew the time had come to bring him home.

Tarj has autism, and before his accident strange people and strange places were a significant cause of stress.

His mum and dad could see life in hospital was wearing on Tarj, and they feared the stress would cause him to lose his hard-won progress.

"He had the biggest smile on his face when we came home," Stacy said.

"To go from not knowing if he would be there when you woke up in the morning to wheeling him in the front door, we can't even explain the feeling."

Part of the reason they were able to bring him home at all was a GoFundMe set up by Tarj's aunts. Thanks to donations from the community the family was able to purchase and fit out a car suitable for Tarj's new wheelchair.

Stacy and Darren said the outpouring of community support had left them speechless.

But they still face a long road ahead.

Before the accident Tarj was in mainstream schooling, enjoyed cooking and riding his bike to school.

Now Tarj is non-verbal, and needs a wheelchair. He has very limited use of his hands and limited movement in his legs.

His parents have no idea what's possible for Tarj - they just know their little boy is in there, and he's blown through every limitation placed on him so far.

To get the best possible outcome Tarj will need extensive physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy for at least the next year.

It's not available to him in Wollongong without some serious help.

"We are working with the NDIS to get him a plan, but they have told us they only cover maintenance therapy, not therapy to help him improve," Darren said.

"They say NSW Health has to cover that. But down here they don't have the staff, and the doctors in Sydney have told us it's too much for Tarj to drive up there every day.

"He's battling to stay here; his strength every day is what makes us wake up each day.

"We have to keep pushing because he is. He just needs therapy."

To help the family find a way to fund Tarj's rehabilitation, head to https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-tarj-our-little-fighter-on-his-recovery

To follow Tarj's journey go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/252757200054202

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