The parents of a 10-year-old boy who fell head first from a bouncy castle in Napier, fracturing his skull, fear he may never be the same.
Zaybein Wathey is being treated at Starship Hospital in Auckland following the freak accident at Inflatable World last week which also saw him suffer a 25-minute seizure. Speaking to the New Zealand Herald, Zaybein's parents Haley Wathey and Paul Marjoribanks said the incident was "absolutely devastating".
Zaybein is improving slowly, after only managing to stay awake for a couple of minutes last week, Mr Marjoribanks said. He was able to talk and his memory was intact but simple tasks like a game of Connect 4 were tiring.
It is hoped Zaybein will be well enough to return home on Thursday.
Inflatable World has temporarily closed their Napier branch while the incident is investigated.
It comes just days after another boy was sucked under a bouncy castle at an Inflatable World branch in the Auckland suburb of Glenfield. The incident was captured on video by the boy's father.
A recreational safety expert is warning parents to avoid bouncy castles until there are better regulations in place.
ACC figures show so far this year there have been nearly 400 accidents involving inflatables.
Jack Mains, from the Institute of Professional Engineers, advises parents to keep their children off larger inflatable devices and says strict parental supervision is needed on smaller ones.
3 News/RadioLIVE
