Hamilton, from Ohoka, near Christchurch, travelled to Barcelona this month for what was supposed to be a relaxing break with a mate.
On the second day of the trip, he ran to dive into the pool at their accommodation and his nightmare began.
“I’ve run into the pool, done sort of a salmon dive, no arms, tucked at the very last minute,” the 26-year-old said.
“And the pace of me going into the water has just sent me right to the bottom of the pool, and I’ve smacked my head – right on the crown.
“My ears were ringing and I instantly knew something wasn’t right with my neck, so I sort of just floated to the top and I called for my mate to come and help me.”
Hamilton was rushed to hospital with “a pretty significant gash” to his head.
But he was more concerned about his neck.
“I could still feel my hands and my feet, I could still move around – but I was scared, I knew something was wrong.”
Hamilton underwent surgery and has “pretty much been horizontal since”.
Will Hamilton, from North Canterbury, has been living and playing cricket in Britain since early 2025.
“I have fractured my C1, which is the vertebra to your skull. And then I have a complex fracture to the C7, which the surgeon said was millimetres away from me being a quadriplegic – or even worse,” he said.
“It was very, very close, he was saying, so he said I was very lucky.
“The surgeon put some kind of metal brace or cage around three of my vertebrae – my C7, C6, C5 – and screwed that together. And he’s just left C1; apparently that will just heal back by itself.”
Hamilton said his stay in hospital had been “tough”. His travel mates stayed in Spain as long as they could and supported him but eventually had to return to Britain.
Barby Cricket Club captain Ryan Sneddon then went to Barcelona and helped Hamilton when he was discharged from hospital on Monday.
He set his Kiwi mate up in a hotel, where he will remain until his pain is under control enough for him to fly.
“On Monday this week they said I was fit to fly home, even to New Zealand,” he said.
“I was very surprised at that news – happy, but surprised because of the amount of pain I was in. That didn’t really match up with what they were telling me.
“I’ve been able to get on my feet and walk, so that’s a massive plus, but after five minutes of either sitting upright or walking around, I get this crippling headache, and I have to get back into a lying down position to take the pressure off.”
Will Hamilton plays for Barby Cricket Club in Northamptonshire, England.
Hamilton said the headaches were “agonising”, especially during the 10-minute taxi ride from the hospital to the hotel.
“It was pretty gruesome… trying to get to the motel, but in saying that I was pretty glad to be out of that hospital,” he said.
“I can’t thank Ryan enough for sort of saving the day, really. I don’t know what I would have done without him. I was sort of planning on doing it myself and I had no idea how hard it was going to be.”
Hamilton has another appointment at the hospital in Barcelona in the next few days to review his medication and get stronger pain relief.
He hopes that will allow him to be upright and pain-free to endure a flight back to Britain.
An aunt in New Zealand is an emergency department doctor and she has been helping Hamilton navigate the medication and care he needs.
“She said these headaches… I just need to stop trying to do so much,” he said.
“She understood that trying to get out of the hospital was going to be pretty tough, so she’s given me a bit of a play-by-play to follow for the next while.
“I’ve got to just park up in this hotel, try to do a little bit of moving, stay away from the headaches and hopefully it will just die down. But I’ve still got to go back to the hospital to get some morphine and get checked over again because they didn’t give me enough heavy-duty drugs to travel.”
Hamilton plans to get back to Britain where he can get checked out by a spinal surgeon.
Once given the all clear, he will come back to Canterbury.
“I don’t really know about rehab just yet, it’s still very early. The main goal at this stage is just getting out of Barcelona, getting to England and having that post-op consultation.”
Hamilton’s mother will travel to Britain to fly home with him.
He said his family and friends had been amazing and he could not commend them all enough – from the mates, who got him to hospital and supported him, to his parents, who he speaks to every day.
“I can’t put into words what I’ve put my family through back home,” he said.
“It’s pretty concerning [for them], but I’ve been on the phone to them every day, if not more, just trying to formulate a plan and giving them a heads up.
“And it’s quite nice, I’ve got sort of a second family back in Barby in my hosts that I’m living with – they have been unreal, saying, ‘hey, just come back here, don’t worry about getting home too quick, we’ll hand feed you’.
“It’s quite nice to know that wherever I’m going, I’m going to be getting looked after pretty well.
“It’s a pretty freak situation… I’m pretty happy that I can still walk and talk and get on with life.”
Cricketer Will Hamilton underwent surgery in Barcelona this month and says he has “pretty much been horizontal since”.
Hamilton did not have travel insurance and will have to foot the bill for his hospital care in Spain. He said it would likely amount to more than $80,000.
His motel and living expenses will come in on top of that.
Barby CC have set up a fundraising page and more than $23,000 has been donated so far.
“It’s been overwhelming to say the least… the amount of support… me and my family have just been gobsmacked with what’s been going on,” he said.
“It’s unreal to see the generosity of people in the circles that I’ve been involved in and family and friends and even people that I don’t even know that probably just feel a bit sorry for me, which is just incredible.”
Hamilton said people should consider him a cautionary tale for travellers going overseas without insurance.
“Just use me as proof that insurance… don’t forget it,” he said.
“It’s just gambling with money that you didn’t even think was possible. I’m just so grateful that mum and dad are in a position to help me out, but far out, if I didn’t have parents or a good circle of support around me, I’d be working this off for a good chunk of my life.
“I can’t be more grateful really.”
Hamilton said he’d had a few dark moments in hospital but was feeling better within himself now he had a plan.
“I went through my s*** in hospital, beating myself up and going through all that sort of carry-on,” he said.
“When the surgeon told me like you’re millimetres away [from being paralysed)] that sort of put things in perspective. Yes, I am in Barcelona by myself, but I can still get around, and I am still feeling pretty connected to everyone.
“I’m so, so lucky.”
Hamilton wanted to thank every person who had supported him so far.
“The level of support received by my family and me has been both unexpected and overwhelming,” he said.
“I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Barby Cricket Club, the wider cricketing community back home, and friends for their continued outreach and support. I also wish to recognise Jason Lockrose [RU Cricket] and the North East Valley Swans for their fundraising efforts.
“Special acknowledgment is given to Thorn Parkes and Ben Lockrose for their care and assistance while I was in Barcelona, and to Ryan Sneddon for travelling to support me and assist with my discharge from hospital.
“Their actions have been invaluable.”
Dunedin cricket club North East Valley, where Hamilton played for three seasons, are also stepping up to help with his hospital bill.
They are raffling off a premier cricket bat made by Dunedin bat brand and repair service RU Cricket, owned by Lockrose.
“We hope to sell 250 entries, which would raise $5000 for Will and his family,” a club spokesman said.
“An entry will cost $20 for those in NZ or £10 [$23] for those overseas. A winner will be randomly chosen on the 20th of August.”
For more information or to buy a ticket, click here.
If you want to donate to the fundraiser for Hamilton, click here.
Anna Leask is a senior journalist who covers Christchurch issues and national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for more than 20 years with a particular focus on family and gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual violence and homicides. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz.