A scaffolder who suffered a horror trampoline accident has been left paralysed from the chest down. Rob Harcourt, 37, suffered a cardiac arrest and had to endure major surgery following his admittance to hospital when doctors found fluid in his brain after the freak accident.
The Teesside-based tradesman tripped and fell onto a trampoline—which dislocated his neck and kinked his spinal cord—in the garden of his friend’s house. The “popular guy and great friend” suffered a “catastrophic injury” according to a GoFundMe page written by his friends to support his partner, Jade Higgins, and her children during his recovery.
Organiser Amanda Jones wrote: “Rob has had several operations now, the most recent was to insert a filter into his circulatory system to catch any clots that may form as a result of the blood thinners being withdrawn. This is to avoid a repeat of what happened with the last blood clot.”
Harcourt received emergency surgery following the accident, and has been heavily sedated following multiple operations. A second 8-hour operation was carried out on the “catastrophic injury to his neck,” while blood thinners were used to cool his temperature. Harcourt had been working seven days a week to support his family during the cost of living crisis, however doctors say that he will likely be permanently paralysed from the chest down.
Writing on the fundraiser page, Jones added: “They had to make a tough decision as because he’s on blood thinners, it was going to be quite a risky operation. I think it’s going to be a few days before the doctors can give them any idea on what his quality of life is going to be like if and when he wakes up.”
Almost £5,200 had been donated through the fundraiser at the time of writing.
