Warning: This article contains images which some readers may find distressing.
A mum thought her son 'wouldn't make it' after the 11-year-old's leg got sucked into a boat propeller during a family day out.
Charity Diamond took her children on a boat trip at the Yellowtail Dam across Bighorn River in Montana, US, on 1 September.
The mum, 40, said her son Treyson Diamond was messing around with a friend at the rear of the boat when the horror accident took place, around 15 miles into the reservoir.
Advert
Treyson's right leg got caught in the boat propeller and the boy was rushed to St Vincent Regional Hospital in a helicopter.
Charity said if it wasn't for Treyson's life-jacket, which was sliced into pieces, he wouldn't have made it.
His injuries consisted of cut artery and several deep cuts to his leg. Treyson underwent emergency surgery when he got to hospital and now has 400 stitches.
Charity said: "The life jacket saved him as far as his actual core of his body.
"If he didn't have that on it would have been a whole different story.
“It happened that fast, and then everyone racing around to help him.
"I was 100 percent panicked.
"Honestly I don't even know if I had time to be completely horrified because I was holding my son's legs.
"I 100 percent feared he might not make it but I couldn't even let that thought enter because I had to keep him calm."
The mum-of-two, who works as a realtor, said her friend pulled Treyson out of the water while all the adults onboard used towels and rope to stop the bleeding.
Charity said there was no reception on the boat and that she had to rush to shore to contact emergency services.
She added: "When the master of the universe literally hands back your kid, how can you be anything but grateful?
"He is very frustrated. He's sad this happened. He was just very excited to join football and had gone to a football camp a couple of weeks before.
"It's the worst possible timing. He's 11 and he doesn't know if he will be able to compete competitively. It's a bunch of question marks and that's really hard.
"As a parent you're like, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what happens to me, just my kid.
"The trajectory of his entire life has shifted and it wasn't his fault. That's hard to swallow when you're 11."
The boy now uses a walker to get around, while Charity said doctors don't know if he will regain full use of his leg again due to nerve damage.
A GoFundMe page has since been set up to help the single mother with medical expenses.
Anish Vij