A SPORTY teen has been left paralysed from the chest down after landing on his neck – doing a trampoline somersault ‘he’d done a million times before’.
David Sample was performing the mid-air stunt while playing in the on April 23rd but didn’t manage to flip over completely, meaning he landed awkwardly.
The 16-year-old shouted for help, telling horrified family members he couldn’t feel his body from the chest down and feared he’d broken his neck.
Medics carefully moved the lad into an ambulance and life-flighted him to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, , where a CAT scan revealed a fracture in his neck.
Despite undergoing a gruelling 12-hour to ‘strengthen’ his neck, the student was given the devastating news that he’s unlikely to walk again.
David’s family, including 41-year-old dad Ray Sample, are now at his bedside and remain hopeful that he’ll regain some movement.
But now facing huge medical expenses and ongoing care and treatment, the family are appealing for help on as the adjust to David’s life-changing injury.
Ray, from Richland, Washington, US, said: “He jumped on trampolines for many years, he’s been jumping ever since he was a kid.
“He was doing a trick he’s done a million times before, he just didn’t go all the way over and landed on his neck.
“My ex-wife and her husband were there and David called out when it happened and said, ‘I think I just broke my neck’.
“He was from the chest down and couldn’t move his legs.
“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.
“It’s heartbreaking.”;
Artist Ray said David, who loved rock-climbing, backpacking and , is still hopeful he’ll be able to be an adrenaline junkie from his wheelchair.
Ray said: “My first thought was ‘it can’t be my son’.
“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.
He keeps saying ‘why did I do this?’ It was a complete accident
David Sample
“This happened on the trampoline? That’s insane.
“He’s already asked me ‘would they let me parachute out of an airplane in a wheelchair?’
“The goal is to remain absolutely positive, we’ve attempted to keep him full of hope.
“He’s dealing with 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’.
“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.”;
To donate, visit the family’s GoFundMe page here.
