Brit who broke neck diving into shallow end of pool to return home on Christmas Day

[rooster59]

Brit who broke neck diving into shallow end of pool to return home on Christmas Day 

Kate Buck

 

Sophie Wilson, 24, broke two vertebrae in her spine by diving into a shallow pool in Thailand on December 1  (Picture: Leicester Mercury/BPM Media)

 

A British woman who was left with no feeling from her chest down after diving into a shallow pool in Thailand will begin her long journey home on Christmas Day.

 

Sophie Wilson, 24, was one week into her six-month backpacking tour of Asia when she broke two vertebrae in her spine on December 1.

 

Just before midnight on Christmas Day, Sophie will be taken on a stretcher to Chiang Mai Aiport with three Thai medics and her parents for the 13-hour flight to Heathrow.

 

Full story: https://metro.co.uk/2018/12/21/brit-who-broke-neck-diving-into-shallow-end-of-pool-to-return-home-on-christmas-day-8272170/

 

METRO: 2018-12-22

[Just1Voice]

Feel sorry for the girl over the broken neck, and possible paralysis for life, but seriously people, she didn't have enough sense not to dive head first into the SHALLOW end of the pool?  

[Justgrazing]

Pleased that the girl can finally return after this as it must be a very frightening experience to be left in that condition so far from home regardless of how it happened .. And it's just as well she's being flown to Heathrow and not Gatter's after the disruption caused the last few days by the mindless pillock ( s ) flying drones about the place .. 

[mogandave]

Hardly a happy ending, but nice she’ll get home okay. 

 

So young and (apparently) crippled fo life. 

 

Good luck.

[Benmart]

2 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

Feel sorry for the girl over the broken neck, and possible paralysis for life, but seriously people, she didn't have enough sense not to dive head first into the SHALLOW end of the pool?  

The first sentence was nice. The scolding part is worth less.

[DrJack54]

There was a previous mention of her insurance company name. Can anyone update that info. Bit unrelated to this young lady, however insurance cover is a big problem. In particular fact many insurance companies do not cover motorbike accidents (small print). In this case didn't cover pool accident.

I wonder if insurance from a "GOOD" company could be offered to tourists visiting los. Recently a young Australian man passed away after being flown back to au after motorbike crash. He also used go fund me. I personally was surprised that this ladies gofundme raised so much money. A credit to those that supported her. Now we all hope for full recovery.

Edited December 22, 2018 by DrJack54
Error

[Ossy]

2 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

head first into the SHALLOW end of the pool?

Perhaps an unfair judgement, J1V, since nine'll get you ten that there wasn't a 'shallow' sign at the pool, then . . . but there probably will be now.

[yimlitnoy]

Lets hope for a full recovery, this is so sad.

[marko kok prong]

Nice looking lass,and seems to be keeping her chin up despite her injury,only 24,do hope she can make a recovery,as for diving in the wrong end of the pool,well we all make mistake's,luckily for most without such devastating result's.

[Tony125]

3 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

Feel sorry for the girl over the broken neck, and possible paralysis for life, but seriously people, she didn't have enough sense not to dive head first into the SHALLOW end of the pool?  

Last part of your comment was unnecessary. My senior year of high school a friend dove into a pool (not from a diving board) and died just before graduation. I have dived from the shallow end but I don't dive straight down but angle the dive so only enter at a shallow angle. Some  people make mistakes no sense calling them stupid after their actions have caused them tremendous injury.

 

[jgarbo]

40 minutes ago, Ossy said:

rhaps an unfair judgement, J1V, since nine'll get you ten that there wasn't a 'shallow' sign at the pool, then . . . but there probably will be now.

Something my grandfather said, "Look before you leap." Always worked for me...

[orchidfan]

Sadly if the injury is high on the spine and the spinal cord is damaged or broken there is currently no "cure".

Happens all the time in Australia with people diving into waves from the beach. Mostly young men.

[Rod the Sod]

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

There was a previous mention of her insurance company name. Can anyone update that info. Bit unrelated to this young lady, however insurance cover is a big problem. In particular fact many insurance companies do not cover motorbike accidents (small print). In this case didn't cover pool accident.

I wonder if insurance from a "GOOD" company could be offered to tourists visiting los. Recently a young Australian man passed away after being flown back to au after motorbike crash. He also used go fund me. I personally was surprised that this ladies gofundme raised so much money. A credit to those that supported her. Now we all hope for full recovery.

Dr Jack. It is not so much about good and bad companies although of course there are bandits to steer clear of. It is about getting the cover you really need and making a call on the cost. Most feel that they will cut a corner or two and some, like this young lady, live to regret it. Everyone hates insurance when paying their premium, and they hate them even more when they make a claim and get nothing. Then there are the people who cry with happiness when they talk about their insurance company because, like a friend of mine right now, they pay out, without any dispute US$2mio for her cancer treatment (over 6 year period). You pays your money and you takes yer choice.

[Jonathan Swift]

4 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

Feel sorry for the girl over the broken neck, and possible paralysis for life, but seriously people, she didn't have enough sense not to dive head first into the SHALLOW end of the pool?  

Your comment is offensive. How dare you judge this unfortunate girl for a mistake that is easy to make especially at night. It's not about "sense" or intelligence. It's simple common human error. Does she need glasses or contacts and maybe wasn't wearing them? Lots of possibilities. Maybe she had been drinking. Maybe she was distracted. You can't possibly say that you've never had a lapse in attention or judgment that got you into trouble. In some cases such a lapse is harmless, in some cases there are consequences. Design flaws TWICE caused space shuttles to explode. A stray washer caused the Hubble telescope to be blind. A series of tragic miscommunications  on the part of security and police contributed to death in the Parkland massacre. And here you come to twist a knife in the wound of tragedy. I hope you don't have kids and raise them with this sort of insensitivity

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

There was a previous mention of her insurance company name. Can anyone update that info. Bit unrelated to this young lady, however insurance cover is a big problem. In particular fact many insurance companies do not cover motorbike accidents (small print). In this case didn't cover pool accident.

I wonder if insurance from a "GOOD" company could be offered to tourists visiting los. Recently a young Australian man passed away after being flown back to au after motorbike crash. He also used go fund me. I personally was surprised that this ladies gofundme raised so much money. A credit to those that supported her. Now we all hope for full recovery.

I suspect her 'go fund me' campaign was so successful because people recognized the injustice... She'd taken the right steps to get insurance and was then cheated. 

 

I do wish the unlucky young lady a full recovery. 

[SiSePuede419]

The first rule of diving is know the depth of the water you're diving into. 

 

If you don't know the depth or what's beneath the surface, you don't dive.  It's as simple as that. 

 

Shallow end of the gene pool. ????

 

[oslooskar]

There is a rooftop pool in the building where my son's condo is located in Bangkok that is an accident waiting to happen. The entire pool is tiled in black so that one has absolutely no reference point to warn himself that he is approaching the end of the pool. In fact, one must constantly lift his head out of the water to see where he is going or risk bumping his head. Most lap pools where I come from have black tiles in them only to mark lanes and to mark the end of the pool.

[Jonathan Swift]

13 minutes ago, Rod the Sod said:

Dr Jack. It is not so much about good and bad companies although of course there are bandits to steer clear of. It is about getting the cover you really need and making a call on the cost. Most feel that they will cut a corner or two and some, like this young lady, live to regret it. Everyone hates insurance when paying their premium, and they hate them even more when they make a claim and get nothing. Then there are the people who cry with happiness when they talk about their insurance company because, like a friend of mine right now, they pay out, without any dispute US$2mio for her cancer treatment (over 6 year period). You pays your money and you takes yer choice.

And you have read her policy no doubt, I assume. If not, I'd say you know a lot less than you think you do about insurance companies. I've had enough dealings with all sorts of Ins companies to be considered an expert. It's luck of the draw as to whether an insurance company will look for an excuse to weasel out of coverage. This move is a classic one, industry standard to try to blame the victim. Some are more crooked than others but they're all crooked to some extent. My fire insurance company wanted to falsely accuse me of arson in order to deny coverage. I got a lawyer and we beat the crap out of them, and they paid dearly. I now have a nice nest egg in a mutual fund, and a 1957 Thunderbird. I fixed up the house myself because I really don't care about it - Thailand is home now. Thank you State Farm Insurance for being a bunch of heartless a$$ holes and being stupid enough to think you could beat a seasoned attorney.

[JackGats]

What do insurances cover then if they don't cover biking or swimming accidents? I hope once back home she can sue the ass out of that insurance company.

[Jonathan Swift]

11 minutes ago, SiSePuede419 said:

The first rule of diving is know the depth of the water you're diving into. 

 

If you don't know the depth or what's beneath the surface, you don't dive.  It's as simple as that. 

 

Shallow end of the gene pool. ????

 

Oh, and young people are not supposed to make mistakes, is that it? Plenty of people twice as smart as you think you are make mistakes under various and variable circumstances. Do you suppose maybe she never got any formal teaching as to swimming, maybe was never told that "rule"? Your remark is disgustingly insensitive, and reflects your own shallowness as a person. You're laughing and joking about a tragic and painful thing. How's that for a "shallow" reference? Shame on you. You're a poor excuse for a human being, even if you are a skilled diver and swimmer

Edited December 22, 2018 by Jonathan Swift
spelling

[Rod the Sod]

1 minute ago, Jonathan Swift said:

And you have read her policy no doubt, I assume. If not, I'd say you know a lot less than you think you do about insurance companies. I've had enough dealings with all sorts of Ins companies to be considered an expert. It's luck of the draw as to whether an insurance company will look for an excuse to weasel out of coverage. This move is a classic one, industry standard to try to blame the victim. Some are more crooked than others but they're all crooked to some extent. My fire insurance company wanted to falsely accuse me of arson in order to deny coverage. I got a lawyer and we beat the crap out of them, and they paid dearly. I now have a nice nest egg in a mutual fund, and a 1957 Thunderbird. I fixed up the house myself because I really don't care about it - Thailand is home now. Thank you State Farm Insurance for being a bunch of heartless a$$ holes and being stupid enough to think you could beat a seasoned attorney.

Mmmm you are on the button arn't you. You are right I know nothing about insurance having spent 45 years working with Banks and Insurance companies across the world, the last 23 in Asia. I bow to your greater knowledge and experience, which seems to be based around boasting you sued an insurance company and now smirk all the way to your Thunderbird (hope it is insured with no-one I have dealings with). Be careful what you boast about - Insurers have long arms and never forget. And believe me, you are no expert.

[Jonathan Swift]

10 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

I suspect her 'go fund me' campaign was so successful because people recognized the injustice... She'd taken the right steps to get insurance and was then cheated. 

 

I do wish the unlucky young lady a full recovery. 

As I recall from a previous story they blamed her for negligence, that was how they rationalized denying her

[Rod the Sod]

1 minute ago, Jonathan Swift said:

Oh, and young people are not supposed to make mistakes, is that it? Plenty of people twice as smart as you think you are make mistakes under various and variable circumstances. Do you suppose maybe she never got any formal teaching as to swimming, maybe was never told that "rule"? Your remark is disgustingly insensitive, and reflects your own shallowness as a person. How's that for a "shallow" reference? 

As an "expert" you seem to think Insurers cover "mistakes". Nope, Mums and Dads and friends cover mistakes, Insurers cover calculated risks. Go read a book on the subject matter before trying to be so smart.

[Alexandra3]

4 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

Feel sorry for the girl over the broken neck, and possible paralysis for life, but seriously people, she didn't have enough sense not to dive head first into the SHALLOW end of the pool?  

If you’re from an area with pools like California, Florida, etc you know to not dive into the shallow end. If you’re not from a community of private pool owners and didn’t grow up with a pool in back of your home this isn’t info that was transmitted to you. 

 

England isn’t the land of pools. English people don’t have the cultural experience of using a private pool daily. 

 

Unless you grew up with a pool in your home backyard you don’t learn about pool safety rules. It’s not part of your life experience. 

 

It’s not cool to judge someone who has had a tragic accident and didn’t know better. She simply didn’t know. 

She didn’t know to not dive into the shallow end and then decide to do it anyway. She didn’t know. 

 

If you know the risk and do it anyway the legal term for that is “you assumed the risk” and this is completely different from not knowing the risk. You’re assuming she knew the risk and assumed the risk. I’m assuming that she didn’t know the risk at all because a pool was not part of her life experience growing up.

 

Are you lacking in empathy and compassion? 

Edited December 22, 2018 by Alexandra3

[JackGats]

18 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

I suspect her 'go fund me' campaign was so successful because people recognized the injustice... She'd taken the right steps to get insurance and was then cheated. 

 

I do wish the unlucky young lady a full recovery. 

The campaign was also successful because she is a woman and not a man. 

[mogandave]

That’s all well and good, but I’ll continue to emphasize to my kids to be careful.

[Wake Up]

30 minutes ago, SiSePuede419 said:

The first rule of diving is know the depth of the water you're diving into. 

 

If you don't know the depth or what's beneath the surface, you don't dive.  It's as simple as that. 

 

Shallow end of the gene pool. ????

 

If God told me to choose her genes or your genes for my newborn baby I would choose hers. I don’t know her but your words tell me all I need to know about you so I would take my chances with someone else. ????

[KneeDeep]

2 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

There was a previous mention of her insurance company name. Can anyone update that info. Bit unrelated to this young lady, however insurance cover is a big problem. In particular fact many insurance companies do not cover motorbike accidents (small print). In this case didn't cover pool accident.

I wonder if insurance from a "GOOD" company could be offered to tourists visiting los. Recently a young Australian man passed away after being flown back to au after motorbike crash. He also used go fund me. I personally was surprised that this ladies gofundme raised so much money. A credit to those that supported her. Now we all hope for full recovery.

 

What is this gobbledegook??

 

The Insurance company is fine. They insure motorbikes up to 125 cc as standard. Pool use is also covered. Diving headfirst recklessly into shallow pools is not.

 

The baseless criticism of insurance companies on these threads is beyond imbecilic at times.

[NickJ]

Let me guess, you sell insurance.....

[Ossy]

31 minutes ago, Jonathan Swift said:

I now have a nice . . . . . and a 1957 Thunderbird

After reading your post, I shouldn't worry about the old T-bird. Keep cracking funnies like that and you'll be able to afford a new one . . . one day ????