Nashville teen swims to save his life, with two broken wrists

Christian has been in the hospital for 12 days.

“It’s hard, I feel really helpless because I can’t do anything for him,” Hill said.

Hill said it was Easter Sunday when 17-year-old Christian and the teen’s 15-year-old cousin were behind his mother’s property in the woods when his son fell.

“It looks like when the ground gave way, he tumbled maybe 10 feet down a slope and then he fell the remainder,” Hill explained.

Along the way, Christian fractured his skull in multiple spots, as well as both orbital sockets and his nose.

He also broke both wrists and forearms. However, with determination to live he was still able to swim to the bank and pull himself out.

“He is resilient and he is tough,” Hill said.

Despite getting himself out of the water, Christian was still stranded in the quarry. Family members used a paddle boat to get him to safety.

“If it hadn’t been for the boat I don’t think my son could have lived,” said Hill.

He added that getting his son to safety wasn’t the only close call for the teenager. The ambulance had to make an emergency stop on the way to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Dickson when Christian began having trouble breathing.

“Words can’t even describe that… people say you know God won’t put something on somebody that they can’t handle and I think that’s the main reason why my son’s alive because God knew I couldn’t handle losing him,” Hill said tearing up.

While the Hill family doesn’t know what lies ahead for their son, they told News 2 they are counting their blessings for now.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family. Click here to donate.