The 12-year-old boy who was left with critical injuries after falling through a skylight in Palmerston North has spoken out about the incident.
Winston Tuimana-Paniora was left in an induced coma for five days after the accident, in which he fell 8 metres onto a hard floor.
According to Fairfax Media, Winston says he can't remember much about the fateful night - including the moment he fell.
"The only thing I remember is hiding, that's probably it. But I can't remember going over, to actually falling."
Winston was at Central Normal School with two friends when the incident occurred. His friends broke into the classroom he fell into immediately after the accident and dragged his unconscious body away from the scene.
It was only moments afterwards that police arrived at the scene.
Winston was airlifted to Palmerston North Hospital before being transferred to Starship Children's Hospital.
When he awoke five days later, Winston told Fairfax the gravity of the situation hit him straight away.
"That was pretty scary. I didn't know what happened I didn't know how ... I just woke up really shocked.
"I'm really lucky I didn't get brain damage or a broken leg or two," he says.
Winston's mother, Makere Paniora also spoke to Fairfax and said it was a miracle that her son had survived the incident considering his injuries.
"At that stage I could have lost my son. All I wanted was to get my son sorted and make sure he was coming home to me and not getting buried."
Winston says being in hospital for Christmas wasn’t so bad, as he was treated to a big Tongan feed and even got a present from the Mad Butcher.
But for now, spending time with his family is the most important thing to him.
3 News
