Horror trampoline accident leaves boy, 12, with huge spring in back

Ian and Sandra Quinlan say they “could have lost” their son Jamie, 12, after the incident on Saturday afternoon.

Jamie had been jumping on a trampoline at a friend’s house in the town of Louth in Lincolnshire, England, when the large metal spring pinged off “mid-bounce” and flew into his back.

10-minute operation

Jamie said he was bouncing on the trampoline in his friend’s garden when he suddenly felt a “strange and heavy” sensation in his back, followed by intense pain and shock.

His dad was called over to the house and he rushed his son to Louth Hospital, by which point Jamie was on the brink of fainting – all while the large metal spring was still embedded in his back.

Following some x-rays and medication, Jamie was taken to Sheffield Children’s Hospital in an ambulance – although, at one stage, there was even a chance that he could have been air-lifted to the hospital instead.

Jamie said: “When I was in the waiting room there, I was really nervous.

“It took them about 10 minutes to actually get the spring out of my back.

“The doctors in Louth and Sheffield said they had never heard of something like this happening with a trampoline.

“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.”

Jamie’s dad, Ian, said: “It was a terrible thing to happen, and it really scared me. It could have happened to anyone. Jamie has been so brave.

“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.”

Ian added: “Children are the most important things in our lives, so people need to be aware of the dangers in their own back garden.”

This article first appeared on our sister site, the Louth Leader.