A 13-year-old boy is making a “miraculous” recovery after spending 11 days in a medically induced coma. Dakota “Cody” Trenkle Jr. was skateboarding on July 27 outside Goose Creek Lake, MO when he fell 240 feet down a ravine. Cody spent the next three days down there without water or food when a K9 unit eventually found him. Cody had a brain bleed and pneumonia and was immediately airlifted to St. Louis, where he was put in a medically induced coma for 11 days.

By August 9, Cody was alert enough to sign “I love you” to his mother, Stephanie Neely. It’s something the family has done together since Cody was little. “That moment was pivotal to me. It’s made the last couple weeks of stress, heartache, hope, gratitude, sadness, and pain worth it because that small gesture meant my boy was coming back to me,” Stephanie told People. One of the first things Cody asked for was a Coke from McDonald’s.

This isn’t the first major health battle Cody has had in his young life. “I’ve known he was a fighter since he was born, you know, he was born super preemie, and he fought for his life then, and now, almost 14 years later, he’s doing it again,” Stephanie told a local station.  “Just proving to all of us just truly how strong he is, how resilient, and how stubborn he is, which is honestly what saved his life. He wasn’t going to give up. And he’s like, ‘I’m not just gonna lay here and die.’ For him to finally come out of it two weeks after he went missing is huge. He’s still proving to everyone, ‘I’m fighting, I’m still here, I can survive.’

Cody still has some major hurdles to face. Doctors extended his stay in the ICU due to concerns of his liver function. “He spent his first full day off sedation, and we actually got to go downstairs to walk. The plan was for the other hospital to pick him up today, but now everything with his liver has me pretty concerned again,” his mother said. A post on the 17^th shared that Cody had a “good day” with Cody walking assisted during a visit with his family. The hope is to transfer Cody for inpatient rehab, where he will have to spend months in therapies before going home. Even then, Cody will also have to receive outpatient therapies. The family has set up a GoFundMe to help with Cody’s medical expenses. “It’s still going to be a long process,” said Stephanie. “But we’re on the right path now, and I just want everyone to keep their thoughts and prayers with him. He’s a miracle.”