Tourist Left Paralyzed After Pool Dive Goes Horribly Wrong

A 24-year-old British tourist has been left paralyzed after a terrifying pool accident during a vacation in Turkey with his girlfriend.

William Ponter traveled to Turkey with his girlfriend, Rebecca Francey, 27, on Aug. 28. The accident happened on Sept. 3, the final day of their trip.

Francey said the couple had been jumping into the hotel pool when Ponter attempted what she described as a “belly flop.”

Seconds later, she realized something was terribly wrong.

“We were at the pool and we were both jumping in and I was stood at the side then he jumped in and just didn’t come back up,” Francey said.

She said she had been diving into the water while Ponter was belly flopping.

“I think he just went to the bottom,” she said.

Ponter eventually floated back to the surface face down.

Francey immediately jumped into the pool and pulled him out.

“He said he couldn’t move,” she recalled.

She began shouting for help as people gathered around them and an ambulance was called.

Doctors later discovered that Ponter had broken his neck and suffered a severe spinal cord injury.

He underwent a grueling 13-hour surgery.

Francey said doctors removed his C4 vertebra because of concerns that the injury and swelling could put him at risk of a stroke and worsen his breathing problems.

Despite the surgery, doctors reportedly told the family that Ponter is expected to be paralyzed from the neck down.

Francey described the moment as almost impossible to process.

“It just felt like a dream I was going to wake up from,” she said.

She also had to make the devastating phone call to Ponter’s parents.

“I had to call his parents and tell them that their son is going to be paralysed,” she said.

Ponter remains in intensive care, and his family says they still do not know what his long-term recovery will look like.

“We don’t know what the future is going to look like now,” Francey said. “We have no idea until he’s out of the ICU.”

The accident has also left the family facing enormous medical costs.

Francey said Ponter did not have the correct travel insurance to cover his treatment and transportation back to the United Kingdom.

His hospital bills have already reportedly reached about £50,000, or roughly tens of thousands of dollars, and intensive care is costing about £2,000 per day.

The family also expects to need at least another £40,000 to fly him back to the U.K. for further treatment.

Francey has launched a fundraiser with a goal of £150,000 to help cover his medical care and repatriation.

She said the entire family simply wants to get him home.

“We just all want him home because it couldn’t have happened to a better person,” she said. “It’s not fair.”

For Francey, the accident is a painful reminder of how quickly an ordinary vacation moment can turn catastrophic.

“Just a split second just changed everything,” she said.

She is also urging other travelers to carefully check their insurance coverage before going overseas.

“Just check with your insurance what’s covered before you go,” she said.