Surf machine causes whiplash injury
Gwen Spurlock, a top young surfer was rushed to hospital shortly after using the new indoor surf machine at Swansea's new £32 million leisure centre, the LC. Gwen Spurlock, the British junior surfing champion was using the machine at its media launch, when she fell off.
After the incident the 16 year old complained of persistent headaches and extensive, painful bruising. In hospital she was found to have swelling on the brain and
whiplash injuries. In order to relieve the pressure on her brain and reduce the risk of brain damage, she underwent surgery.
In the operating room, two holes the size of 10p pieces were drilled into her skull in order to reduce the pressure on her brain. She has missed ten weeks of school as a result. As she is currently studying for her GCSE's this is an unfortunate time for her to be missing so much school.
In another devastating blow, it now looks as if Miss Spurlock will miss the world championships in May. She was planning to travel to France at the end of May in order to take part in the prestigious event.
At the end of this month she will be back in hospital for a brain scan to monitor the results of her surgery.
Immediately after the incident, before going into hospital, Miss Spurlock commented on the website Surf Solutions on her experience of using the indoor surf machine at the leisure centre.
She stated that she fell off a number of times despite being an expert surfer, “which was funny at first but then became a bit painful - bruising and headaches are the consequences”
Unfortunately, her injuries turned out to be a little more than just bruising and headaches. Whiplash is a serious injury caused by hyperextension of the neck and the pain caused by it can last for weeks or even months. The swelling on her brain could have led to serious brain damage had she not sought medical attention.
The LC said that as a result of the incident they have introduced strict new regulations for people using the machine. Wetsuits and helmets are now compulsory and no more injuries have arisen as a result of using the machine.
The LC say that they have no record of any injury received by Miss Spurlock while at the leisure centre. Neither have they been contacted by Miss Spurlock or her family regarding the incident.
The leisure centre, which is run by Bay Leisure released this statement:
“We were made aware some weeks back, via a third party, that she had apparently experienced a 'whiplash' injury whilst on the surf rider and we immediately took extra safety precautions by making the use of additional protective equipment compulsory.
We have not been approached by anyone representing Miss Spurlock on this matter and we were certainly not aware that she had been in hospital.”
Hopefully Miss Spurlock will have no lasting damage due to her injuries. The machine is one of only 50 worldwide and the centre hopes that it will be a major attraction for aspiring surfers.
Updated on 5/15/2008