Budding Australian Gymnast Becomes Quadriplegic After Accident While Preparing For National Championship
In a heart wrenching incident, a teenage boy from Australia broke his neck and is left paralyzed chest down after an accident on a trampoline.
The young boy had been the state level champion before the accident cut his career short. Campbell Dawson faced this tragic incident while training for the Australian National trampoline championships in March, as per the exclusive coverage from Daily Mail.
Since childhood, Dawson has exhibited passion for gymnastics and trampolining. At the time of the accident, the young sportsman was trying to put together a new routine to showcase in the upcoming national championship.
The accident happened on a double mini trampoline, which caused his neck to be broken at multiple points of C6, C7 and C1. The boy is now a quadriplegic for life as he can no longer feel in the lower part of his body. He spent 231 days hospitalized in a couple of different places before getting released two weeks ago.
Due to the severity of his injury, Dawson has to undergo months of rehabilitation training. The young boy is now crippled for life as he will be confined to the bed only and will be dependent on others for his daily needs. His mother Donna Dawson left her job recently to look after her son who now needs full time assistance.
Dawson's family originally came from New Zealand and moved to Brisbane two years ago. Since they are not yet legal citizens of Australia, they are not eligible for any benefits from the Australian government such as career allowance.
As the word spread about the tragic accident of the sportsman, various individuals and organisations have come forward to provide monetary assistance to the Dawson family. Moreover, Variety Queensland and the MASKS Foundation have proliferated awareness and generated money to fund the basic equipment needed by the young lad.
The organisations have managed to provide $50,000 worth of equipment in the form of $8,000 wheelchair, $12,000 power-assist wheels and a special $20,000 clip that changes the chair from manual to electric.
The youngster's mother shared that her son has shown an amazing fighting spirit despite the ordeal. At the rehabilitation centre, experts are still trying to determine if there are other ways to help Dawson get back some of his abilities.