Eddie’s mum says she has been told he may never walk again

A mum says her son has been left paralysed after ‘tripping up’ during a fun afternoon at a trampoline park. Stella Costea says her 14-year-old son Eddie Costea was at Flip Out in Peterborough when he tripped between the trampolines and hit his head.

The 46-year-old says she received a distressing call around 5pm from Eddie’s cousin who told her Eddie ‘couldn’t feel his body’ and was unable to move. It is alleged the youngster tripped on one of the walkway ‘bridges’ between the trampolines and fell ‘head on’ into one of the raised blocks in the centre of the hall.

Stella and her husband Claudiu Costea rushed to the trampoline park where three ambulances arrived to care for Eddie who was ‘in pain and crying’. The schoolboy was sent to hospital where a CT scan revealed he had a broken C5 vertebra and he was transferred to Addenbrookes Hospital at 1am.

There he underwent a six-and-a-half-hour surgery after further tests found he was paralysed and had burst blood vessels in his spine. The mum-of-two says she now wants to spread awareness on the potential dangers of trampoline parks as she claims it was a ‘freak accident’.

Flip Out said they were saddened to hear about Eddie’s injury but explained that ‘incidents at Flip Out parks are very rare’ and they were ‘reviewing the circumstances’. Stella, who lives in Peterborough, in Cambridgeshire, said: “It’s a massive injury for such a freak accident. It shows you how those places are so dangerous, I don’t know why they are open.

“In the middle of the trampoline park there are some blocks, quite hard blocks and then a little bit of padding on the outside. He tripped on one of those bridges in between the trampoline. He lost his balance and sort of propelled from the trampoline into the block head on.

“His cousin called me and said ‘Eddie can’t move, he fell and has got blood on his mouth and he’s just laying on the floor on one of those trampolines, he really can’t move.’ He said ‘he can’t feel his body.’ He was still talking but in pain and crying.

“In a split second your life is upside down. I wish I could just bring more awareness to people. There will be changes for the rest of our life and especially his life. We just want to bring awareness to people. This is just a freak accident, he hasn’t done anything, he didn’t jump off anything, he just tripped.”

Eddie is currently undergoing rehabilitation but Stella says that doctors have said he may never walk again. Stella, who is a nurse, has set up a GoFundMe to help pay for extra physio and to support the family as she has to care for Eddie full time.

Stella said: “We have been told we will never have the same kid like we had. Horrible. That’s all I can describe it as, it’s been horrible for all of us. It’s just turned my life upside down. I feel like I have been hit by a train and left behind and I have to pick the pieces up.

“He’s basically really withdrawn and upset and he just cannot believe that he’s 14 you know [and this has happened], he’s not a baby and he’s not an adult. He had the whole life ahead of him, to enjoy his life, to do things, to have girlfriends and do sport.

“He’s always been an active guy so from that to what [he is now, he’s] a totally different kid. Physically and mentally [he’s] not the same. Everything is gone. It’s so weird you take things for granted like walking, turning in bed – I have to turn him every three to four hours in bed because he can’t turn himself because he’s got no strength.

“I’m basically a full-time carer for him.”

A spokesperson for Flip Out said: “We are deeply saddened to hear about Eddie’s injury and our thoughts are with him and his family. The safety and wellbeing of our guests is always our highest priority.

“Flip Out Peterborough operates under strict safety procedures, including comprehensive risk assessments, safety briefings and trained staff supervising activity areas. Incidents at Flip Out parks are very rare.

“We are reviewing the circumstances surrounding the incident in line with our normal procedures. We remain committed to maintaining a safe environment for everyone who visits our park.”

To donate to Eddie’s fundraiser, visit: