A 21-year-old medical student has remained positive and upbeat despite becoming permanently paralysed after a freak skiing accident.
Jimmy Jan, from Newcastle, NSW, moved to the slopes of Perisher for a snow season after Covid-19 sent his studies online for the past semester.
But the morning of August 9, 2021 something went terribly wrong before attending an afternoon class.
In a TikTok video, Jimmy said he landed on his head and broke his back after performing a ski jump incorrectly at a high speed.
He shared details about the accident in a series of videos, often making jokes about the whole situation and is now admired by thousands for his immaculate positive attitude.
Jimmy Jan, from Newcastle, NSW, (pictured) moved to the slopes of Perisher for a snow season after Covid-19 sent his studies online for the past semester
But the young medical student maintains a positive attitude despite the situation, and shared the details in a series of TikTok videos
In a TikTok video , Jimmy said he landed on his head and broke his back after performing a ski jump incorrectly at a high speed
‘I landed the first jump, easy peasy, and was approaching the second jump which is considerably larger and I had some considerable speed going,’ Jimmy said in the video.
‘I’m hitting the second jump, I get to the top and I didn’t have my weight where it needed to be. So I performed the world’s worst backflip, and not on purpose.
‘I caught a few metres of air and remember thinking ‘oh cr*p, this is going to hurt’, and that’s the last thing I remember because a few seconds later I landed directly on my head and lost consciousness.’
Jimmy woke up on the snow surrounded by witnesses and ski patrols who asked if he was okay and if he could move his toes, which he couldn’t.
‘That was the moment I knew things probably weren’t going well,’ he said.
Jimmy mentioned he usually snowboards, but on this occasion, he decided to ski.
Jimmy mentioned he usually snowboards, but on this occasion, he decided to ski
‘Traditionally I am a snowboarder, maybe I should’ve stuck to the snowboard and I wouldn’t be here but skiing is fun,’ he said.
He was then rushed to the medical centre where he started experiencing pain is his chest and found it difficult to breathe.
At this point doctors weren’t sure about the extent of the damage or if Jimmy had broken his neck or back, so he was placed on spinal precautions.
Next, they cut off his snow gear in order to X-ray his whole body.
But he was more concerned about doctors cutting his expensive ski attire into pieces and how he smelt than the damage he had done to his body.
‘You’re probably wondering what was going through my head at that point and my first thought was: “Oh no, they just cut my favourite jumper into shreds”.
‘My second thought was: “Oh no, this is the fourth day in a row I’ve worn these thermals without washing them, I’m pretty sure I stink right now”.’
After the accident Jimmy woke up on the snow surrounded by witnesses and ski patrols who asked if he was okay and if he could move his toes, which he couldn’t
Next, they cut off his snow gear in order to X-ray his whole body. But he was more concerned about doctors cutting his expensive ski attire into pieces and how he smelt than the damage he had done to his body
X-rays revealed Jimmy had broken a fracture in his spine and was airlifted to the nearest hospital for emergency surgery.
Before leaving he asked the medical workers if they could collect his laptop, headphones, phone charger, toothbrush and other necessities from his van that was parked on top of the snow mountain, which they did.
Soon after arriving at the hospital doctors performed spinal surgery then Jimmy woke up pain-free in ICU.
Doctors told Jimmy during the surgery they decompressed his spinal cord and stabilised the fractures with screws and rods.
Jimmy claims he was told the likelihood of any sensation returning below his hips due to his level of injury is about two per cent.
Doctors told Jimmy during the surgery they decompressed his spinal cord and stabilised the fractures with screws and rods (right)
Reflecting back on the day of the incident, Jimmy didn’t cry or scream but instead simply took a selfie with the caption ‘oopsie’ which he saved to his phone.
‘The accident I had that day was pretty severe and the course of my life changed in an instant, and it will literally never be the same. But there’s nothing I can do to change what happened, all I can do it look back and say “oopsie”.
‘My point is sometimes bad things happen in life, and there’s nothing you can do to change them.’
Reflecting back on the day of the incident, Jimmy didn’t cry or scream but instead simply took a selfie with the caption ‘oopsie’ which he saved to his phone
‘The accident I had that day was pretty severe and the course of my life changed in an instant, and it will literally never be the same. But there’s nothing I can do to change what happened, all I can do it look back and say “oopsie”,’ he said
Jimmy’s collection of TikTok videos have a combined total of 5.3million likes and he’s gained a following of more than 466,000 people who admire his positive attitude.
‘You’re single-handedly the most inspiring person i’ve ever seen on this app. You’re like sunshine in human form,’ one person wrote.
‘I love this attitude because all too often we get mad at ourselves and beat ourselves up. This is a much healthier attitude,’ another added.
A third said: ‘Your spirit is contagious.’
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