Paralysed gymnast Jesher Yau says ‘I believe I can walk again’ after horrific fall in routine practice
- The 29-year-old former Hong Kong gymnast says he feels ‘a bit of sensation’ in his legs
- More than half of US$400,000 target raised for his rehabilitation expenses
Paralysed gymnast Jesher Yau Tsz-fung, who suffered horrific spinal injuries in a fall during practice in January, believes he can walk again.
Talking to the Hong Kong media since his fall in the United States on January 14, the 29-year-old former member of the Hong Kong gymnastics team and one-time Olympic hopeful said only time will tell if he can make a full recovery, but he remains optimistic of his prognosis.
He injured his spinal cord while working as a coach at the Champions Gymnastics Academy in Kansas City, Missouri.
“At first, the doctors said that my spinal cord was severed and that I would not walk again and that I wouldn’t be able to go to the bathroom normally,” Yau told Apple Daily.
“But after I had my [first] surgery, I was told my spine and C6 and C7 vertebrae were [only] fractured but not severed so that has given me hope. It depends on my rehabilitation,” he said.
“The doctor said some people become forever paralysed but some people can gradually become better. As for my condition, I don’t know yet.
“However, I believe I can walk again because I have a bit of sensation in my legs and I can feel vibrations in my legs,” he added.
Yau suffered the fall when he volunteered to show two friends some basic gymnastics moves but flung himself on the edge of the sponge pool, injuring his neck when his head hit the side of a springboard.
“I was meant to land into the sponge pool but my neck hit the springboard. At first I felt dizzy and I couldn’t control my movement. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t get up. I told my friends ‘I can’t feel my legs, I can’t feel my legs!’”
He was taken to the Research Medical Centre Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri and had anterior discectomy surgery and fusion. According to his Facebook page, he is currently paralysed from the chest down and has limited movement in his upper body.
“When I first learned that I was going to be paralysed, I felt miserable. I was so scared that I would lose the use of my legs and I didn’t know what to do,” he said.
Yau is a Hongkonger but did not buy insurance in the US and his family and friends are looking for funds to help pay for his medical costs at the renowned Rehabilitation Hospital of Overland Park in Kansas City.
As a competitive gymnast, Yau competed in the Hong Kong Gymnastics Open, twice winning the vault competition and men’s floor exercise in the rookie competition, starting in 2010.
Hit by a series of injuries, Yau quit being a competitive gymnast at 22 and focused on being a coach.
