By Neena Strichart
A couple of months ago my friend and coworker Barbie received tragic news that her nephew 13-year-old Alex had a serious trampoline accident. Poor Barbie was scared to death and tried to comfort her sister Nancie as the family feared the young man had broken his neck and would be paralyzed. Circumstances took a turn for the better; nevertheless I want to share what happened to Alex so our readers will take caution with home trampolines. Read on!
In Nancie’s words:
“On Monday [Alex] attempted a double front flip on a trampoline. He had no symptoms of nerve damage, moved all extremities and had some pain between his shoulder blades. We treated him with ice and Advil. He really was not in much pain, mostly sore and slightly swollen. He went to school Tuesday and returned feeling OK. I knew I needed an x-ray before he could return to spring practice for JV football, so I called for a clinic appointment, he was feeling better and we saw [the doctor]. He had an x-ray which looked suspicious and then a MRI. [The doctor] called for a spine specialist to review the MRI digitally. They agreed that [Alex] needed to be transported either by plane or car to [another] medical center. He was fitted with a collar and I drove him there— 3 hours north.
We had an additional CT scan. It was the spine [the doctor] confirmed; [Alex] has a fracture of C7 and torn ligament on his neck. Due to his age they [would] not do surgery and [instead will] try a cervical collar for 6-8 weeks.
PS: I got a lecture from every nurse and doctor on the danger of trampolines and that trampolines should never be used in the home environment, in routine physical education classes, or in outdoor playgrounds.”
Update: Alex ended up having spinal surgery at Scripps and has a four-inch scar on the back of his neck. He needs to wear a soft collar for 6-8 weeks. He can then start physical therapy. His doctor hopes Alex will be well enough to snowboard this winter, and there is a possibility he can play football in a year if all heals well.
Please take heed— our youngsters are more fragile than they think!
