For many high school grads, Schoolies is one of the best weeks of their young lives. But for Reuben, the reality was very different.
Reuben Ishmel, a recent school leaver who simply wanted to celebrate the end of a long year of study in 2018, was never supposed to be joining the thousands of teenagers celebrating at Surfers Paradise.
But Mr Ishmel’s celebration ended almost as soon as it began, when he decided to accompany his friend to a public toilet before attending one of the big beach parties on the sand at Surfers Paradise. “I thought he was joking around, but then it got heated and suddenly someone came from behind and hit me.”
The teenager was ushered into an ambulance, where he was given emergency medical treatment for a fractured skol, broken cheekbone and collapsed eye socket.“They pumped me with drugs so the pain wasn’t too bad. Now, the 19-year-old lives with the constant reminder of being hit simply because he wouldn’t hand over his phone to a stranger.
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