Teenager left paralysed from chest down may ‘never walk again' after breaking neck doing trampoline stunt
A 16-year-old has been left paralysed from the chest down after breaking his neck doing a mid-air trampoline stunt.
David Sample, from Washington, US, was performing a 'trampoline somersault' which he has 'done a million times before'.
The teenager was playing about in the garden on 23 April when he wasn't able to fully complete the flip all the way around.
Family members said that David screamed for help, telling them he couldn't feel his body from the chest down and feared he had broken his neck.
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Ambulance medics arrived at the house and life-flighted him to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where a CAT scan revealed that David had suffered a fracture in his neck, which required a 12-hour surgery to 'strengthen' it.
However, doctors also informed his family that he is unlikely to walk again.
His father Ray Sample, 41, says they are now facing huge medical costs for ongoing healthcare treatment, so they've started a GoFundMe fundraiser.
"He was paralysed from the chest down and couldn't move his legs," Ray said. "The first responders had to cut the trampoline net to put him on the stretcher without moving him [his neck].
"I was shocked. How can you feel after that, how can you process it? It's impossible to put into words."
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Ray said the idea of his adrenaline junkie son being in a wheelchair is 'heartbreaking'.
"My first thought was 'it can't be my son'," the dad admitted. "If anything, he is the one who would have something like this happen in one of his crazy adventures.
"He's a rock climber, he goes out and plays basketball, he loves heights and backpacking and going on tons of crazy adventures.
"This happened on the trampoline? That's insane."
Although, Ray has told David to remain hopeful that things will one day turn around, adding: "The goal is to remain absolutely positive, we've attempted to keep him full of hope. He's dealing with depression as it starts to sink in that this is his life right now and we don't know if it will ever be the same again.
"We're saying 'this is what they're saying right now, but it's not hopeless'."
Ray continued: "He keeps saying 'why did I do this?' It was a complete accident. It's not something he was trying to do.
"He has an amazing personality, he loves to be the centre of attention but in a goofy way. In a way where if he can make you laugh he is happy.
"This has been devastating for all of us."
You can see and donate to the GoFundMe here.
Anish Vij