Schoolgirl, seven, suffered a brain injury and broke 15 bones in her skull when she was knocked over by a zorbing ball on family holiday
Schoolgirl, seven, suffered brain damage and broke fifteen bones in her skull when she was knocked over by a zorbing ball during a family vacation
- Lily-Mae West was on holiday in North Yorkshire when a zorb ball hit her
An eight-year-old girl broke 15 bones in her skull, eye sockets and palate while suffering brain damage from a freak zorbing accident.
Lily-Mae West, then seven, was on a family holiday in North Yorkshire when a zorb ball slammed into her, slamming her face first into the concrete ground.
Her mother Katie West told how fluid leaked from her daughter’s brain and described how she was left badly bruised, “panda-eyed” after the February incident.
The schoolgirl, from Stanley in County Durham, spent a week in hospital and although her mother says her brain damage is not serious, she says some of Lily-Mae’s behavior has changed and she isn’t as confident as she used to be.
Lily-Mae West, then seven, was on a family holiday in North Yorkshire when a zorb ball crashed into her
A zorb ball slammed into her, slamming her face first into the concrete ‘rock hard’ ground (stock image)
Speaking of how the February accident “happened so quickly,” her mother told the paper BBC: ‘Tears run down her cheeks. It was horrible.
“As a parent you can never imagine something like this happening.”
“When she was in the hospital, I was terrified. It didn’t seem real,” Katie told the broadcaster Wakefield Express.
“It felt like I was watching what was happening from a distance.”
The family, from Stanley, are now raising money for the Leeds General Infirmary, who cared for Lily-Mae, and for the charity set up at the hospital that helped them, Day One Trauma Support.
On a fundraising page, her mother said, “We would like to raise as much as we can for two great causes.
“Lily-Mae was great and this is all her idea.”
It comes after two children were lifted into the air while zorbing at a festival in Merseyside earlier this summer, with one boy suffering ‘several serious injuries’ after rising 30 meters in height.
The kids were trying out the activity on an inflatable pool at the Southport Food and Drink Festival when an unexpected gust of wind sent their zorb balls flying.
It is alleged that a boy flew up to 30 meters in the air in the inflatable sphere before crashing into a dumpster in front of shocked witnesses.
The boy suffered “significant injuries” and is still in hospital. A second boy was unharmed despite also falling to the ground.
The family is now raising money for the Leeds General Infirmary, which took care of Lily-Mae
The fundraiser was Lily-Mae’s idea, her mother has said
A witness has since revealed how a “huge” gust of wind came “out of nowhere” to sweep up the zorb balls.
The witness told Sky News: ‘There was a huge gust of wind out of nowhere, sending people’s umbrellas, drinks and plates flying around, then the wind picked up in a split second.
“One kid was blown out of the pool and the second just flew into the air at about 100 feet and then landed heavily. We didn’t see it land, but we saw it fly up.’
The witness described the scene as “very, very scary” and said people at the festival were “quite shocked” afterwards.