Trampolining accident changes Brandon Farghers life
Eight months ago a somersault accident at a Whangārei trampoline park paralysed the lungs of local teen Brandon Fargher and left him unable to move from his upper chest downwards.
But now the 18-year-old is grabbing on to hope with possibly the country's first nerve transplant surgery to restore functionin his hands.
The Sunday afternoon activity at Flip Out Whangārei soured for Brandon when his front double somersault went wrong. The talented rugby league player's spinal cord was crushed in his neck and he faced new challenges as a quadriplegic.
An investigation into the February 9 incident was launched by WorkSafe in June this year.
The Northern Advocate approached the owners of Flip Out Whangārei for comment but the couple said WorkSafe has prevented them speaking to the media or reaching out further to Brandon and his family due to the active investigation.
A visitor to the popular venue before, Brandon decided to attempt the complex somersault - a manoeuvre he had confidently nailed for years since his parents gifted him a trampoline for his first birthday.
"I can't feel my legs," was the thought that struck Brandon after things went wrong and he landed on his head, simultaneously hyper flexing his neck.
His paralysed lungs meant cries for help turned into muted whispers.
Flip Out's "amazing staff" were quick to the teen's side and immediately phoned for an ambulance.
Back in Onerahi Brandon's dad and best mate, Aaron Fargher, was smashing tiles in a family member's bathroom when his cousin Elaine Bilski got the call from Kapreece Bilski, who she had dropped off with Brandon.
Through tears, the 14-year-old choked out the words: "He can't move."
Fargher, armed with the car keys, shot out the back door before Bilski could finish telling him Brandon had been in an accident.
"I was just telling myself, don't judge anything before you see," Fargher said.
Kapreece met Fargher at the Flip Out entrance and led him to where Brandon was lying prone, still on the trampoline.
The family of three are no stranger to tragedy after a blaze destroyed their South Auckland home in 2015.
But for self-described optimist Fargher, this was the toughest yet.
"I still wake up every day in shock," he said, shortly after describing how he and Brandon's cousin form the teen's 24-hour care team.
"Brandon said to me, 'Dad I can't feel anything'. What do you do? It was pretty emotional."
Aaron Fargher (left) says the nerve transplant surgery gives his son Brandon Fargher (pictured) hope. Photo / Michael Cunningham
The accident happened around 2pm and by 6.30pm Brandon had being choppered to Middlemore Hospital and was in an eight-hour surgery to stabilise his condition.
It would mark the beginning of a long recovery journey involving two weeks in the Intensive Care Unit, two weeks in the High Dependency Unit, three weeks in Middlemore's general ward, before spending three months in the hospital's spinal unit.
And finally in July Brandon returned home to Whangārei, where piles of sports clothes were packed away and rugby league trophies put into storage.
The changes were hard on Brandon and he described having extremely dark days where thoughts of "I can't do this and I don't want to do this" plagued him.
But the spinal unit allowed Brandon the realisation that people in wheelchairs experience "quite normal lives".
"I started to get out of the hell that was in my head and I started feeling happier," he said.
Brandon is now using his positive outlook to brainstorm the possibilities the nerve transplant surgery will afford him when he can open and close his hands.
The procedure has been performed in Australia since 2019 but Brandon's surgery is predicted to be a national first.
The three-year process will involve surgeries to transfer working nerves from above the injury site into paralysed nerves below the spinal damage. Fibres from working nerves grow into the paralysed nerves, reactivating muscles and movement.
Brandon, a keen fisherman, is excited about the prospect of being able to hold and wind a fishing reel again - as well as being able to do "all the little things".
"I'll be able to do everyday things - hold a glass and have a drink, use my phone."
But Brandon is looking most forward to being able to play with their future dog; a companion his family are saving up for.
"There was a dog in the spinal unit and I was always asking to see the dog. Even when I was exhausted I was still trying so hard to pat it," he said.
"Now I love them even more. When I have this surgery I'll be able to walk the dog and play with it."
Alongside the surgeries Brandon will have to complete months of physiotherapy to train his hands and fingers in certain movements, and strengthen the muscles involved.
The Northern Advocate approached the Auckland Spinal Rehabilitation Unit for comment but had not received a reply at time of edition.
