Semyon Williams, Jr, Frisco, Texas teen, 13, severs spinal cord in freak accident after diving into shallow end of pool to avoid being bitten by wasp.
Will he ever walk again? A 13 year old teen in Texas has been left paralyzed after severing his spine after diving into a pool to escape a wasp.
Semyon Williams, Jr., also going by his nickname, ‘SJ’ was swimming with a friend at a community pool in Old Orchard Park in Frisco, when the boy became agitated upon seeing the bug.
Trying to avoid being bitten by the hornet the boys jumped into the pool, only for Williams to dive head-first into the shallow end – hitting his head before floating face down in the water.
Define freak accident?
A prognosis revealed the boy severing his spine in a bid to flee the insect, NBC5 News reported.
Williams mother, Anya Camper said her son’s friend thought he was joking at first but when he saw that he wasn’t moving, he turned him over and asked him ‘are you playing?’
That is when she said, her son told him ‘I can’t feel anything. Help me! I can’t feel my arms, my legs, help me, call my mom.’
The boy was rushed to Children’s Health Hospital in Dallas where he underwent emergency surgery. The boy’s mom now fears her son may never walk again and is praying for a ‘miracle.’
Bruno Braga, MD, a Pediatric Neurosurgeon at Children’s Hospital, did not perform the surgery, but is familiar with this type of injury, and knows the doctor who did.
Braga told NBC5 News that Williams fractured two vertebrae the 4th and the 5th cervical vertebrae, and fractured parts that are in front and behind the spinal cord, spinal canal which contains the spinal cord.
‘The fact that he had no motor function or sensory function below the level of injury, that not a good indication that he’s going to recover much, but it’s too soon to tell and we just have to wait and see,’ the doctor said.
Praying for a miracle…
Said Williams’ mom: ‘When he (the physician) said quadriplegic when he said those words, that’s a different type of feeling.’
The boy’s grandfather said it was ‘by the grace of God that is his friend happened to be there and jumped in,’ but also expressed his pain.
‘It hits at the core,’ the grandparent said about his grandson. ‘At 13 years, you’re only just beginning to live, you know.’
Camper, who shared how helpless she feels, has called the ordeal ‘heartbreaking.’
‘As a mom you’re supposed to fix things, and I can’t fix it, so I’m just praying for help in any kind of way,’ she said.
Only a week since the freak accident, the family is taking it day by day.
‘The reality is, this is a long road. This is going to be a marathon for us and we have to support him and be with him every step of the way,’ said Camper.
The mother, who also has two other sons, said she had to take a leave from her job, to be by her boy’s side.
She said: ‘We are people of faith and we have an army of people praying for him,’ Camper said. ‘We’re believing that anything a miracle will happen.
A GoFundMe has been set up by Lewis Camper to help the family with their medical bills.
If it weren’t for one of his friends realizing that he wasn’t “just floating”…my mom would’ve been planning a funeral,’ Lewis wrote, in part.
‘SJ was rushed to the hospital and we received absolutely devastating news. His spinal cord had been severed so badly that he will not have use of his legs and arms.’
SJ has been admitted to PICU. The fractured bones were repaired. However, the spinal cord is the main stem of the body, and we’re being told it’s not repairable.
‘My mom, myself, my siblings and my family are strong believers in faith. We refuse to believe that this is SJ’s story. He’s ONLY 13! He has WAY too much more life to actually LIVE & FULLY ENJOY.
He added: ‘We are trusting and believing that God will perform a miracle and heal my brother! Just keep praying, family. God is able. Please donate what you can during this tragic event in time.’
As of Friday early afternoon, the fundraiser had raised $36,420 of a $100,000 goal.
