KEY POINTS:
O'Connor Buckley was riding pillion on his dad Paul's Triumph motorbike when the accident happened.
It was Sunday afternoon, six weeks ago. Paul had wanted to ride alone - to get a few errands done - but his 12-year-old son's eager pleading changed his mind.
Neither saw the ute as it barrelled through a stop sign, 40 minutes from the family home in Putaruru, Waikato.
A passing motorist found Paul first, lying still on the road. "He had already died," says Paul's widow, Louise.
O'Connor was heard groaning underneath a quadbike on the back of the ute. He had flown metres through the air, the impact breaking almost every bone on the left side of his body.
Doctors said it was a miracle O'Connor survived. Now in Auckland's Starship Hospital with a brain injury, he doesn't even know his dad is gone.
Louise Buckley misses her husband terribly - "there are times when it all falls apart and you get angry" - yet every day the 40-year-old thanks God for not taking her son.
Unable yet to communicate, O'Connor is nevertheless recovering and was this week moved from the high dependency unit to the neurological ward.
The family - sisters Michaela 16, and Katie-Georgia, 9, brother Nick, 15, mum Louise, and grandmother "Grananne" Ching - were all bedside when the Herald on Sunday visited.
Poppa Frank Ching had to return to work in Wellington but there was a steady stream of visitors.
A Spongebob Squarepants soft toy sat at the foot of the bed, colourful cards and photos lined the walls, and an iPod was playing O'Connor's favourite songs.
His brain suffered a big impact in the crash and doctors don't know if he will fully recover - although there are flickers of recognition when he's shown photos and cards.
"He is awake now and he is definitely more aware," said Louise. "He looks intently at you, he's not just staring. He looks at us like he knows us."
Louise said the swelling meant surgeons had to remove a chunk of O'Connor's skull, at least the size of his hand.
It's on ice and will be re-attached in about a month, when swelling subsides. His big sister Michaela was the first to count the 58 staples in her brother's head.
Everyone's impressed with O'Connor's bravery. Even as he goes through the process of regaining awareness, he has usually remained peaceful.
O'Connor's recovery is, and will continue to be, tortuous work for the youngster as well as his family.
"It's like someone training for the Olympics, the amount of work he has to do everyday," explained Grananne.
O'Connor has to contend with the speech therapists, the physio, ongoing treatment to his shattered leg and Louise thinks he looks like a rugby player when he's wearing the special helmet to protect his skull.
He laughed for the first time since the accident, while watching a Spongebob cartoon on Friday but Michaela said the family was realising how long the recovery would take.
"We're still at the start, I think, of a long, long process. It's all up to him."
Louise and her other children have been dividing their time between Auckland, the hospital and home to retain a semblance of normality.
They hope that O'Connor will be well enough to move to The Wilson Home in a month - the rehabilitation centre on Auckland's North Shore specialises in children and the family can stay there.
The pressure of the past six weeks had been immense but Louise said the help from family and friends has been tremendous.
"There hasn't been one second when we've felt like we were on our own. I haven't cooked a single meal."
The ute driver suffered a broken hip and ribs and internal injuries in the accident and the Herald on Sunday understands that he is still in hospital.
Police have said speed and alcohol were not factors in the collision. A Taupo police spokeswoman said on Friday investigations were ongoing.
THE BUCKLEYS' BLOG
* August 18, Louise: O'Connor has been taking breaths by himself today. They have stopped his sedation medication.
* Friday 22, Louise: At 10am, O'Connor had another MRI to check his neck and spine. Then specialists came to check his leg wound. He had an EEG.
* August 31, Poppa: O'Connor is sleeping most of the time but he does have what seems like wake times when he opens his eyes a bit.
* September 2, Grananne: Poppa helped the nurse exercise O'Connor's left leg, arms and fingers. There aren't that many parts of O'Connor he could get to because there is either plaster or splints on every one of his limbs.
* September 7, Louise: O'Connor had acute liver failure earlier this week, the doctors were very worried about him. By Wednesday afternoon he was starting to improve.
* September 10, Grananne: One of the nurses commented today how peaceful O'Connor is.
* September 13, Louise: He is a lot more aware of things happening around him and watches us intently. Surgeons are planning to put the bone back in O'Connor's head in four weeks, unless he is ready for it sooner.
* September 17, Grananne: A nurse explained the [head] operation they had done. O'Connor lets us know he wants us to talk to him and explain anything that's going to be done. To follow O'Connor's progress and post messages of support,
