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A Tauranga boy has “shattered” three bones in his neck after a shallow water diving accident, leaving his whānau “traumatised” as he faces a long recovery.
Te Mero Elder, 12, was swimming at Waimapu Stream in Oropi with his 14-year-old brother, Stormy-Jaye, on Saturday when he dived offa bank.
His grandmother, Teresa Taikato, told the Bay of Plenty Times the water was “too shallow” and Te Mero “knocked himself out” when he hit the bottom.
His mother, Hayley-Jaye Mclean, said: “It was the most horrific and most terrifying thing that I’ve ever experienced.”
Te Mero Elder, 12, was swimming at Waimapu Stream in Oropi when he dived off a bank and broke his neck. Photos / Alex Cairns, Supplied
Waimapu Stream in Oropi, Tauranga, where Te Mero Elder was swimming on the weekend. Photo / Alex Cairns
She said Te Mero was conscious and could move his legs, but did not realise the extent of his injuries.
Te Mero has bone graft and spinal fusion surgeries
Mclean said Te Mero was taken to Tauranga Hospital, where Mclean was “gobsmacked” to discover Te Mero had broken three bones in his neck.
They were airlifted to Starship Hospital at about 2.30am on Sunday where Te Mero had MRI and CT scans and bone graft surgery.
This involved surgeons taking a piece of bone from Te Mero’s hip and replacing a broken bone in his neck with it, she explained.
Tauranga boy Te Mero Elder in hospital after he broke his neck during a shallow water diving accident.
Te Mero had spinal fusion surgery on Tuesday and had six screws put in the back of his neck.
This meant he could come out of his neck brace and was now wearing a “soft collar”.
He would hopefully be moved from the Intensive Care Unit into a ward this week, she said.
Te Mero facing ‘very long’ recovery
Taikato said it could take “months” for Te Mero to recover after he “shattered” some bones in his neck, while Mclean said Te Mero was facing a “very long” recovery.
“They can’t actually say how long it’s going to take – it’s up to the spinal cord because it’s bruised. They have no idea how long it will take to heal or if it will even heal,” Mclean said.
She said he had not been able to walk yet “but he’s got movement in his legs”.
