The family of a Sonny Wells – paralysed for life after a 'tombstoning' accident – say they are glad shocking hospital photos of him made headlines around the world.
The 20-year-old has been told he will never walk again after leaping 30ft from South Parade Pier in Southsea into three feet of water.
He was airlifted to Southampton General Hospital after the accident on Saturday where doctors discovered his nec
k was broken in two places.
His parents Robert Wells, 44, and mother Jacqui Unal, 42, made the difficult decision to publish pictures of their son lying in his hospital bed in The News yesterday in a bid to stop other people making the same mistake.
The image has now been published in national newspapers and broadcast on national and international TV stations.
Mr Wells, of Liddiards Way, Purbrook, said: 'If our message reaches just one young person by them looking at the pictures of Sonny we will have at least done something.'
Mrs Unal, owner of the Nemrut restaurant in Albert Road, Southsea, said the reality of Sonny's condition has only just hit home. Although he had been told he was paralysed it had not sunk in until he spoke to doctors himself.
She said: 'He was thinking that there was a 50/50 chance that he would recover. But he asked doctors for a straight answer and they told him that he was paralysed for life. That hit him hard.'
Sonny's exhausted parents say their lives have changed irrevocably since the accident.
They have been told it will take at least two years before the former soldier can leave hospital for good. He will spend a large chunk of that time in a dedicated rehabilitation unit at Salisbury Hospital.
The full article contains 299 words and appears in NS-Havant & Waterlooville newspaper.
