12-Year-Old Boy Miraculously Survives Freak Accident When Trampoline Fires Metal Spring Into His Back
A 12-year-old boy survived a freak accident Saturday when a trampoline malfunctioned, leaving him with a spring embedded in his back.
Jamie Quinlan was expecting an ordinary afternoon when he went over to a friend’s house to play on Aug. 31. While jumping on the trampoline, however, Jamie suddenly got a “strange and heavy” feeling in his back, Australia’s Seven News reported.
A 6-inch metal spring had come loose, launching through the air and into Jamie’s back, just a hair away from his spine.
As bizarre as the accident itself was, even more miraculous is the fact that the 12-year-old was left with no serious damage to his body. Had the spring struck him in the head or the neck, or even several inches over, against his spine, the result could have been fatal. As it was, the spring embedded itself into the skin, creating a hole that was over two inches deep.
An ambulance rushed Jamie to the hospital, where a team went to work to free him from the coil.
Jamie Quinlan was in a friend’s garden when the spring sheared off and flew into his backhttps://t.co/j3HS54nU6Q
— i newspaper (@theipaper) September 5, 2019
“The doctors said they had never heard of something like this happening with a trampoline,” he told 7News. “It took them about ten minutes to actually get the spring out of my back.”
The worst that the boy suffered was severe pain and some lingering discomfort.
“Sometimes it still feels like the spring is in my back, but I am getting a lot better and stronger now. I feel relieved that it wasn’t worse,” he added.
In the wake of the accident, Jamie’s parents, Ian and Sandra Quinlan, are warning other moms and dads of the dangers of trampolines.
“Children are the most important things in our lives, so people need to be aware of the dangers in their own back garden,” Ian Quinlan said.
“I want people to be aware of how dangerous trampolines can be if there’s no cover on the springs, or if there’s a gap. The spring had come off the trampoline like a bullet. If it had hit elsewhere on Jamie’s body, in his head or throat, we could have lost him,” the concerned dad added.
“I just want to speak out to warn parents to check trampolines because one loose spring could be lethal.”
Fox News reported that there were around 94,000 trampoline-related injuries treated in emergency rooms during 2012, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Although trampoline incidents are common — everything from concussions to broken bones — Jamie’s case is definitely more dramatic than most.
Quinlan said his son has been “so brave” through the horrific and painful ordeal. Now, the grateful family just wants to make sure others aren’t at risk of similar dangers.
“It was a terrible thing to happen, and it really scared me,” Quinlan said. “It could have happened to anyone.”
The Western Journal has reached out to Ian and Sandra Quinlan for comment but has not yet received a response. We will update this article if and when we do.
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