23/09/2025
https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/get-quinn-home
The givealittle page is live, below we have also included a story written by Dianna Malcolm, Mud Media
Life can change in the blink of an eye
New Zealand’s Quinn Steiner has survived a near fatal car accident in Canada on the night of his 20th birthday.
The popular young Kiwi with the big smile – from Brookview Genetics – was working in Saskatchewan and had enjoyed a night out with his friends to celebrate his birthday milestone. He wasn’t driving, and he didn’t know the driver. Quinn’s father, Vince, said the three friends quickly regretting getting into the car together. Soon after, the driver lost control, and the vehicle rolled three times.
Quinn’s friend sustained a fractured pelvis but managed to pull Quinn and their other friend (who had broken his jaw in two places) clear. The driver had to be cut free by rescue crews and remains in hospital with spinal injuries.
As horrific as it sounds, Vince says on balance Quinn has been lucky.
Vince said the impact had “smashed” the C3 vertebrae in Quinn’s neck. A C3 injury can affect the diaphragm, making independent breathing impossible. Vince said if Quinn had been moved 2mm the wrong way, he would have died that night.
On his second injury count, Quinn also sustained thoracic spinal injuries to the middle section of his vertebral column (which includes 12 vertebrae from the T1-T12 in the upper back, located between the neck and the lower back). It protects the spinal cord, anchors the rib cage, and provides stability and limited flexibility to the chest area, forming part of the thoracic cage that shields vital organs like the heart and lungs.
The surgeon told Vince another 2mm movement within those injuries would have paralysed Quinn from the waist down.
Vince said Quinn had already undergone extensive surgery by the time he arrived from New Zealand. The surgeon fused his neck above and below the C3 vertebrae. If they had been forced to fuse its entire length – which was a possibility – Quinn would never be able to rotate his neck again. The surgeon couldn’t give Quinn any assurance before the surgery which way it was going to go. As it is, he is expected to recover 80% movement, maybe more.
His mid-spinal injuries have also been stabilised by fusing several more vertebrae. Vince said his first night at Quinn’s bedside after a brutal long-haul flight from the other side of the world – filled with fear for his son – was a time for reflection.
“When I got there, they had already operated, “He was half coherent, struggling to do much, and was very uncomfortable. He had a neck brace on which he will have to wear for a minimum of three months and possibly six,” Vince said.
“The first seven hours with him, he held my hand the whole time. Even when he was asleep, he wouldn’t let go.”
Vince said all he can think is that out of a horrendous situation, they have somehow still got their son, and that he can recover.
“He looks like he is going to make a good recovery,” Vince said with a break in his voice. “We’re so lucky. We’re talking 2mm and we’d have no boy – and another 2mm and he’d be paralysed from the waist down. That’s how close it was.”
Vince said the support from the stud stock industry around the world had meant the world to his family. The New Zealand sharemilker again felt the emotion as he articulated what it meant to hear from industry friends.
“I am so amazed at the number of people that we know through the stud stock industry that have reached out to wish us well. And, not just us – also Karl [Mundan] and Imogen [Steiner, Vince’s daughter] in Australia, who have heard from people who haven’t contacted us directly.
“It’s been quite bloody amazing. I can’t thank everyone enough.”
The next hurdle is not only his recovery but the challenge of paying for his medical costs. Quinn did not have medical insurance and the operation, his recovery and getting him home appears likely to run towards $100,000.
Carrfields have been the first to step up with offering to handle the silent auction of Brookview calves for no charge, but this family also needs the industry to get behind them and bring Quinn home safely.
Anything anyone can spare would be greatly appreciated – it doesn’t matter how much or how little. It all helps, and the family is incredibly grateful.
Photo taken this morning, Quinn on his feet
