"...
Falls
The 19-year-old man, Lewis Bailey, who fell from a balcony in his apartment block
in San Antonio at the beginning of the month, is recovering well in hospital.
By now he is probably back in his home town of Birmingham, as his mother's insurance
covered him for an air ambulance for repatriation.
He explained the fall as an accident as he felt unwell, went outside to be sick
and lost his balance.
The neurosurgeon who operated on him, Dr. Bencosma, commented that it was lucky
that the patient was taken directly to the hospital, as the first two hours after such
a fall are critical.
He was given an MRI scan immediately which showed that his spine had been
severely damaged, needing ten plates to be implanted.
More than two weeks later he has now recovered virtually all the strength in his legs,
and should have no problems with walking in the future, and expressed his desire
to get back to his job in the armed forces.
This week another young man, this time a 23-year-old Australian, fell from the
first floor balcony of his hotel situated in Calle del Mar in San Antonio,
damaging his ankle.
According to his friends he had been drinking, but the incident, which occurred at four
o'clock in the morning, is not thought to have been caused by the victim trying to
dive into the swimming pool, as his room was on the other side of the building,
nor was he trying to get from one balcony to another.
The most likely hypothesis is that, as he is very tall, he turned round
and just toppled over. The official diagnosis is dislocation and fracture to his left ankle,
and he is receiving treatment in the private Vilas Clinic.
The alarmingly high number of balcony falls witnessed in the Balearics so far this year
even sparked the regional Minister for the Interior, Pilar Costa, to claim such accidents
happen “every year†and are “exceptionsâ€, considering that 10 million visitors
come to the Balearics during the high season.
..."
(ibiza-sun)
