A British backpacker plunged 16 feet onto concrete after going too high while indoor climbing in Thailand - fracturing his back and shattering both his heels. Fitness fanatic Jamie Stanley was left with the horror injuries along with two herniated discs when he accidentally took the wrong route while indoor climbing, scaling the wall higher than he should have.
The 26-year-old, who didn't realise his mistake because he was 'in the zone', attempted to jump onto the crashmat below but missed it by inches, hitting the concrete instead. Jamie, who is an experienced climber, says he was left 'wailing' in pain and covered in blood as a bone was protruding through the skin on his left foot.
He was rushed to hospital where he had emergency surgery to close the wound, reposition his feet and had two titanium plates and 18 screws fitted but doctors warned him he may never be able to play sport again. The adventurer was put in a back brace and bed bound for four weeks while the fracture in his back healed and said the whole ordeal caused him to have panic attacks.
He's now bravely sharing his ordeal to warn others to choose their travel insurance carefully, after being left with a £37,000 bill when he discovered his accident wasn't covered. Jamie, from Chorley, Lancashire, said: "I wasn't drunk or being reckless and I'm an experienced climber. I do bouldering in the UK. In Thailand the rules aren't quite the same.
"They had a section on the wall with no inclination that the bouldering ended so I climbed a route thinking it was a normal route. When you climb, you're in your own little zone because you're working hard. I'd gone the wrong way and I was really high.
"I went to jump off as I normally do and, as I looked down, I realised that it was really high and I landed next to the crashmat on the concrete floor. It was a mess, there was blood and me wailing. It was like my body knew what had happened before I felt anything, I was wailing and out of breath before I had the pain.
"Both of my feet didn't look right. I was wondering what the hell I had done. It was a shock to the system. The fracture in my feet is the worst you can have. I couldn't sit up straight or [my back] could collapse. I had to lay down in my bed. They had to give it chance to stabilise and heal.
"They said the surgery on my feet was really serious and they didn't know what the outcome was going to be. They didn't know if I would be able to run properly or have a limp."
Jamie had been on the 'trip of a lifetime' travelling around the world and was just six months into what should have been a year long adventure when he fell in May 2022. He says when doctors warned him that after the surgery, he may not be able to play sport he felt like the 'world was ending'.
He said: "I'm such a sporty person, my whole life is based around skiing, running, swimming and weightlifting. I didn't know if I was going to be able to walk properly. I felt like the world was ending, sports are a massive part of my life and I couldn't imagine life without it.
"It was like taking away part of my personality. There was a lot of dread and worry. It triggered a lot of emotions that I've never had before. I was having panic attacks, my mood was going up and down with the stress of the situation. I didn't have family over there and nobody really spoke English properly."
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Jamie left Thailand four weeks later but had to lay down for the entire journey to avoid collapsing his back. He's sharing his story to warn other travellers to choose insurance wisely as he's been left with a £37,000 bill for the surgery and his hospital stay.
Jamie said: "I thought I was covered by insurance and it turns out I wasn't. It wasn't the cheapest I could find, it was £250 and I really looked into it. Even I was surprised that I wasn't covered. I was just surviving and trusting the people around me to look after me because I couldn't look after myself. I couldn't afford the bills that I was incurring at the hospital so I convinced the doctors to let me get a business flight home so I could lay down any my back wouldn't be at risk of collapsing."
Jamie checked himself into A&E as soon as he arrived back in the UK and was referred for hydrotherapy and physio. He's been able to get back into swimming and the gym but has been advised he shouldn't run again. Jamie said: "I was very lucky because the surgeon I had was renowned, which I think is the reason why I recovered how I did.
"There's still work to do but I'm back at the gym and swimming but I might not be able to run again. It is a shame but I'm lucky to be where I'm at. The travelling seems so far away, it seems like a dream. Everything is so different now, I'm thinking about where my life is going next. Travelling is a distant memory, I'm focussing on other things."
Jamie is fundraising £10,000 to help cover the costs of medical fees including his four-week stay in hospital and the emergency surgery. You can donate to Jamie's Just Giving page here.
