A young graduate was paralysed from the neck down after a freak paddle boarding accident on a family holiday in Hungary. Michael Wells, from West Linton in the Borders, was enjoying a break with his parents and siblings for his cousin's wedding when tragedy struck last month.
The 28-year-old was paddle boarding with his mum in Lake Balaton, a popular watersports spot, when he dived off of the board to give his mum a turn.
The engineering graduate hit the seabed and broke his neck instantly. His twin brother David spotted him floating face down in the water and dragged him to shore on his paddle board.
Michael, who remembers the terrifying ordeal, later told his family: "I heard and felt my neck break when my head hit the bottom.
"I couldn't move my arms or my legs. I knew I was paralysed and I thought I was going to drown. Somehow, I just told myself to hold my breath."
Michael's dad Andy began giving his son mouth-to-mouth after he stopped breathing on the beach. His mum Christina, an NHS nurse, and sister Seòna performed chest compressions in a desperate bid to keep him alive while waiting for paramedics.
Michael was taken by emergency helicopter to an ICU unit at a hospital in Győr and sedated. His devastated family were then told he was paralysed from the neck down. Medics say he won't regain movement in his arms or his legs.
Seòna told the Record: "It was so traumatic for us all - watching this happen to Michael. It has been hard to process.
"It was a freak accident, he's been very unlucky. We all felt we were living someone else's life for a few weeks.
"We could see he was terrified he was going to die. He mouthed at one point to us, 'I don't want to slip away'."
"We were only allowed to visit for an hour at a time at first. There were no English-speaking nurses, it was really terrifying for him."
After two weeks in hospital, Michael was stabilised enough for medical transfer and his family paid for his emergency repatriation to Scotland on September 16. He was admitted to the National Spinal Injuries Unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, where he remains.
In a tragic twist of fate, he was just two weeks from starting his dream job as a graduate electrical engineer, and his parents had recently retired after a life spent caring for others in the NHS.
Michael faces a long road to recovery before he is allowed to go home, and will require round the clock care from his parents.
"Life was all just coming together for him," Seòna said. "He had been waiting to work in engineering for a while and he got the job he wanted, in the company he wanted, but our amazing, adventurous brother’s life changed forever in an instant.
"No longer able to climb, swim and explore. No longer able to do the things he loved. And my parents will now dedicate the rest of their lives caring for Michael. Despite his paralysis I'm amazed at Michael's spirit. He is thankful he is alive and wants to go on.
"As tragic as his injury is, we very nearly lost him which would have been unbearable. We're incredibly lucky my parents were there. He still has a long slow road ahead of him, but we will be with him for every part of his journey."
A fundraiser has been set up to help to help support Michael's rehabilitation and future. Click here to donate.
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