A North Texas teen tried to escape a wasp at a pool. He's now paralyzed.
DALLAS – A 13-year-old is paralyzed after running away from a wasp at a North Texas community center and shattering his spine and neck when he dived into a swimming pool.
Seymon Williams Jr., known to family and friends as "SJ," went swimming on the first day of summer. Witnesses said a wasp near the pool made him dive back into the water. The teen may now be paralyzed for life, doctors told his mother.
"It was a normal day, you know. He came running downstairs telling me he was wanting to go swim with his friends," said Anya Camper, the teenager's mother.
A tragedy on the first day of summer
The mother of four said she gave in to her son's request. It was June 20, the first day of summer, and SJ went to a community pool.
"Basically, him and his friends were just playing running away from a wasp and he just takes off and just dives in the pool," his mother said. "He's not sure exactly what type of dive he did."
Something went wrong during the dive: the football player and avid swimmer hit the pool's hard surface, witnesses said, causing injuries that may now be irreparable.
Anya Camper said her son's only memory is waking up, lying face down in the pool, and taking in water.
"He couldn't move. He was literally drinking water. So it's hard to hear," she said. "He literally told me, 'Mom, I thought I was going to drown because I couldn't move.'"
Camper said her son's friend called to tell her what happened at the swimming pool. She acknowledges being distraught.
SJ's grandfather, Louis Camper, believes they beat the ambulance to Children's Health in Dallas.
"We all met in the ER. And of course, it's chaotic, you know, because when they bring him in, there's all sorts of folks, you know, specialist trauma, you know, people, the nurses."
SJ suffered devastating injuries
The Camper family would find out after scans and an MRI that SJ fractured his neck. He had to have surgery on June 21. Doctors also told them the teen shattered his spinal cord diving in the pool. He may never regain the use of his arms, hands, feet, and legs.
"And so we are true faith believers. And, you know, it's not over, you know, until God say so," Louis Camper said.
His daughter, who was moving her children into another two-story home in Little Elm, had to step away from work. She's been by her son's side and won't even repeat what the doctors said.
"We're praying and believing that God will do a miracle ... perform a miracle on my son because he has too much more for life to live," Anya Camper said.
A GoFundMe campaign for financial and medical expenses has raised more than $31,500. Louis Camper said they are overwhelmed with the kindness but don't know how far the money will stretch.
SJ is in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, but his hospital doesn't have a clear end date. And should the teen's prognosis remain in place, everything changes.
"I just want to try to maintain a certain level of comfort for him, you know, and protection and assurance," he said.
SJ's mother, in the meantime, is trying to hold up in the devastation. The 13-year-old, who talked about being an engineer, can no longer play his beloved video games, and medically, he cannot lift his arms even to eat.
"So as a mom, it's just gut-wrenching because, like I said, like to be literally helpless," she said. "He's looking to me to fix it. And that's one thing I can't do. I can't fix this. So it's hard."