Semyon “SJ” Williams Jr. suffered an accident at a community pool in Frisco, Texas on June 27 while trying to escape a wasp. The 13-year-old dove into the shallow end of the pool, and according to his grandfather, he hit his head on the bottom of the pool, which paralyzed the teenager.
According to NBC DFW 5, Louis Camper, the teen’s grandfather, believes his grandson may not have realized that he was jumping into the shallow end.
“I suppose there was a panic, you know, a frantic measure to get out of harm’s way. SJ just jumped into the pool, but apparently, he dove in unbeknownst to perhaps the depth of the pool,” Williams’ grandfather said. “He just recalls hitting his head, and he even indicated that it felt as if his arms were not part of his body because of the fact that he couldn’t feel.”
Williams’ mother, Anya Camper, described the life-saving actions of his friend, who had also jumped in the water, to NBC 5. “He turns him over, and that’s when he’s asking him, ‘Are you playing?’ and SJ’s like, he can speak, but he’s like, ‘I can’t feel anything.’ You know, he’s freaking out. He’s like, ‘Help me! I can’t feel — I can’t feel my arms, my legs. Help me, call my mom.’”
Williams’ mother continued, “Another kid was like, ‘Are you SJ’s mom? Can you come to the pool because SJ hurt himself bad; he can’t feel anything. He hit his head,’” recalled Anya Camper. “Immediately, I was screaming. You hear about things like this, you see things like this, you never expect it to be your story until it is. When it comes to your front door, it shakes you, that’s exactly what it’s done for us.”
Williams was taken to Children’s Health in Dallas, where the family would learn the extent of his injury. According to Bruno Braga, a neurosurgeon at Children’s Health and an associate professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, the surgery performed on Williams was critical to stabilizing his injury. Though Braga did not perform the surgery on the teen, he is familiar with it because his colleagues performed the surgery.
“It stabilizes the bones so there’s no further injury. He fractured two vertebrae, the 4th and the 5th cervical vertebrae, and he fractured parts that are in front and behind the spinal cord, spinal canal which contains the spinal cord,” Braga explained. “The fact that he had no motor function or sensory function below the level of injury that is not a good indication that he’s going to recover much, but it’s too soon to tell, and we just have to wait and see.”
Despite Braga’s pessimistic outlook, the family remains positive and grounded through their strong faith in God.
“We are people of faith, and we have an army of people praying for him,” said Anya Camper. “We’re believing that anything, a miracle, will happen. The reality is this is a long road. This is going to be a marathon for us, and we have to support him and be with him every step of the way.”
Camper continued, “As a mom, it’s just really heartbreaking; I’m literally helpless. As a mom, you’re supposed to fix things, and I can’t fix it. So I’m just praying for help in any kind of way.”
Louis Camper, the brother of SJ Williams, has set up a GoFundMe campaign for the teen, which at the time of writing has generated $63,863 towards its initial goal of $100,000. Camper writes, “If it weren’t for one of his friends realizing that he wasn’t ‘just floating’…my mom would would’ve been planning a funeral.”
Camper continued, “SJ was rushed to the hospital, and we received absolutely devastating news. His spinal cord had been severed so badly that he will not have use of his legs and arms.”
Camper concluded, “My mom, myself, my siblings and my family are strong believers in faith. We refuse to believe that this is SJ’s story. He’s ONLY 13! He has WAY too much more life to actually LIVE & FULLY ENJOY. We are trusting and believing that God will perform a miracle and heal my brother! Just keep praying, family. God is able.”
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