A British holidaymaker has been left paralysed from the waist down in a freak accident – after slipping over while playing with his nephew by a hotel pool.
Glyn Holland, 32, dislocated two bones in the back of his neck as he played with nine-year-old Ben at a poolside in Majorca on September 8 this year.
He was rushed to hospital after the fall and underwent an emergency five-hour operation as surgeons inserted a metal plate in the back of his skull.
Tragically, Glyn was on the last day of his family holiday with fiancee Jenna Craik, parents Valerie and Jeff, nephew Ben and daughter Tiffany, 13, when the devastating accident happened.
Jenna, 27, who lives with Glyn in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs., said: “It was meant to be a family holiday but it turned into a nightmare.
“I was getting ready when I heard shouts and saw him lying on the side of the pool with people all around him.
“He was bleeding heavily from the back of his crown and he kept saying that he couldn’t feel his body.”
Glyn underwent the five-hour operation at a Palma hospital before being transferred to a specialist spinal unit at Sheffield Hospital.
Dispensary assistant Jenna added: “I was devastated and just kept crying all the time.
“I was told there was a chance he wouldn’t make it which was horrible.
“He looked at me before going in for the operation and I squeezed his hand tight and told him he would be all right.
“That was the longest night of my life and I kept thinking I didn’t know what I would do if I lost him.
“He still can’t speak because of the tracheotomy but I cannot wait to hear his voice again.
“It will be the first time we are able to speak to each other since the accident.
“He needs a miracle if he is ever going to use his arms again and doctors have already told us he will never walk again.
“We know it will be difficult but I just want him home with me and our German Shepherd Roxy who he loves.”
Friends and family are doing a sponsored walk to raise money to pay for travel costs to the Sheffield hospital and adaptations which will be needed to the couple’s home.
Neighbour Hazel Stanistreet, 70, said: “You couldn’t ask for a nicer young couple and they just don’t deserve this.
“Glyn is a lovely helpful chap who always has time for you. It is just devastating.”
