NEED TO KNOW
Eddie Costea, 14, suffered a broken C5 vertebra and paralysis after a fall at a trampoline park in the U.K.
Stella Costea said that her son “tripped on one of those bridges” between trampolines before hitting his head and that doctors believe he will not walk again
Flip Out, the trampoline park, expressed sympathy for Eddie and emphasized the company’s safety procedures
A mother in the U.K. says her teenage son was left paralyzed after spending an afternoon at a trampoline park.
Eddie Costea went to Flip Out in Peterborough, U.K., on Jan. 11 when the accident took place, according to his mom, Stella Costea.
“He tripped on one of those bridges in between the trampoline,” she explained to Kennedy News. “He lost his balance and sort of propelled from the trampoline into the block head on.”
Eddie Costea in a wheelchair
Credit: Kennedy News & Media
Stella, 46, received a call from Eddie’s cousin around 5 p.m. local time that day about the incident.
“His cousin called me and said ‘Eddie can’t move, he fell and has got blood on his mouth and he’s just laying on the floor on one of those trampolines, he really can’t move.’ He said ‘He can’t feel his body,’ ” she recalled.
Her and her husband, Claudiu Costea, immediately went to the trampoline park. When they arrived, they saw three ambulances there for Eddie. At the hospital, their son got a CT scan that showed he had a broken C5 vertebra.
Eddie was then transferred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital at 1 a.m. for an emergency surgery. It took more than six hours. Tests showed he was paralyzed and that blood vessels in his spine had burst.
Eddie Costea
Credit: Kennedy News & Media
“Horrible. That’s all I can describe it as, it’s been horrible for all of us,” Stella said. “It’s just turned my life upside down. I feel like I have been hit by a train and left behind and I have to pick the pieces up.”
“He’s basically really withdrawn and upset and he just cannot believe that he’s 14 you know [and this has happened], he’s not a baby and he’s not an adult,” she added.
Stella hopes to spread awareness about trampoline park accidents.
“Everything is gone. It’s so weird you take things for granted like walking, turning in bed — I have to turn him every three to four hours in bed because he can’t turn himself because he’s got no strength,” she said.
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Eddie is undergoing rehabilitation, but his mother said that doctors believe her son won’t walk again after the incident.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Flip Out said, “We are deeply saddened to hear about Eddie’s injury and our thoughts are with him and his family.”
“The safety and wellbeing of our guests is always our highest priority. Flip Out Peterborough operates under strict safety procedures, including comprehensive risk assessments, safety briefings and trained staff supervising activity areas,” the spokesperson added. “Incidents at Flip Out parks are very rare.”
Read the original article on People