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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Benjamin Lynch

British tourist hospitalised with internal bleeding after backflip on assault course

A British tourist was taken to hospital after suffering internal bleeding on an inflatable assault course in Thailand.

Callum Ryan, 21, suffered from a bad landing during a backflip that left him spitting up blood.

The digital creator from Milton Keynes said he was lying on a bouncy inflatable cushion, and he got two others to jump on it and propel him into the air.

An awkward landing saw him land in a "dodgy way" on his back.

Callum said: "It is a hot spot for tourists and I thought it would be great fun. There was a big bouncy cushion at the waterpark that you jump on to and I thought 'Let's give it a go'."

Callum Ryan ended up coughing blood after landing awkwardly in the water (Callum Ryan/ SWNS)

He had travelled to the Grand Canyon water park in Chiang Mai, a three-and-a-half-hour drive from where they were staying in Pye.

"My girlfriend, Beth, went first - there was a five-metre drop to jump on the cushion - she did a backflip into the water from the cushion which propelled her into the air. As soon as I landed in the water, I knew I'd done something wrong.

An x-ray found he had dislocated his ribs and damaged his lungs (Callum Ryan/ SWNS)
Callum said he knew he had done something wrong as soon as he hit the water (Callum Ryan/ SWNS)

"I swam up underwater and the second I hit the air, I had a handful of blood.

After resurfacing, the tourist then began coughing up blood for the next 30 minutes and went to hospital feeling particularly concerned for his well-being, but found the medical facility shut when he got there.

Leaving his girlfriend in Pye, Callum was informed they would have to go back to Chiang Mai for treatment, where it was discovered Callum had dislocated his ribs and damaged his lungs.

Callum couldn't be treated in Pye and had to travel another few hours to hospital (Callum Ryan/ SWNS)

Callum said: "I felt really sick and ill, when I got there I wasn't feeling good.

"I went to the hospital and they said 'Sorry, we are closed, you will have to come back in the morning'."

An uncomfortable journey to the hospital then took place where it was discovered Callum had isolated his ribs and damaged his lungs. He had to move on as the Pye hospital couldn't treat him.

He said: "We were three-and-a-half hours away and I knew what the journey was like and I thought she was better off staying in Pye - we had the hotel booked there - she stayed with friends we met on our travels."

Callum and his girlfriend Beth, 19, carried on after being given the all clear (Callum Ryan/ SWNS)

Embarking on the trip of a lifetime the couple were visiting Dubai, Vietnam, Bali and Thailand.

The total costs of Callum's treatment, £65.66, were covered by health insurance.

He said: "I then returned to the hospital where they did a blood test, what stood out to me a lot is that the hospital was very much not the standard of the hospitals in the UK, you wouldn't see pigeons walking around the hospital here.

"Although they were really helpful and they were doing all they could."

Since the incident, both Beth and Callum have carried on exploring.

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