Scot paralysed from neck down after freak paddle board accident on family holiday
dailyrecord.co.ukA young graduate was paralysed from the neck down after a freak paddle boarding accident on a family holiday in Hungary. Michael Wells, from West Linton in the Borders, was enjoying a break with his parents and siblings for his cousin's wedding when tragedy struck last month.The 28-year-old was paddle boarding with his mum in Lake Balaton, a popular watersports spot, when he dived off of the board to give his mum a turn.The engineering graduate hit the seabed and broke his neck instantly.
His twin brother David spotted him floating face down in the water and dragged him to shore on his paddle board.Michael, who remembers the terrifying ordeal, later told his family: "I heard and felt my neck break when my head hit the bottom. "I couldn't move my arms or my legs.
I knew I was paralysed and I thought I was going to drown. Somehow, I just told myself to hold my breath."Michael's dad Andy began giving his son mouth-to-mouth after he stopped breathing on the beach.
His mum Christina, an NHS nurse, and sister Seòna performed chest compressions in a desperate bid to keep him alive while waiting for paramedics.Michael was taken by emergency helicopter to an ICU unit at a hospital in Győr and sedated.
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