Balcony fall man lucky to be alive (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Balcony fall man lucky to be alive

Sam Priddy who is recovering after falling 35ft from a balcony while on holiday in Malaga Picture Ref: 99695-87A WOOTTON BASSETT man is lucky to be alive following a 35-foot fall from a balcony.

Sam Priddy, 20, was on holiday in Malaga, Spain, when he fell from the balcony and was in a coma for more than 26 hours.

He suffered multiple injuries including eight broken bones in the face and skull, bleeding on the brain, a shattered knee, and leaking spinal fluids.

His injuries were so bad that his family did not expect him to survive.

And he is only now able to speak for the first time about his ordeal following the accident at the Trafalgar Bar in the Spanish resort happening a month ago on September 2 after an evening's drinking.

Sam, who had been on holiday with his father Frank at the time, said: "I know I am lucky to be alive and still mobile and talking today. Things could have ended up a lot worse."

Sam, who was supposed to be leaving to study physical geography at Glamorgan University this week, has since returned to Wootton Bassett and is recovering from a knee operation to correct the growth of the broken bone.

Sam's mother Sally, 52, who was in Swindon at the time of the accident, recalls the moment she received the call telling her that her son had fallen and might die.

"It was horrendous. It's the phone call that every parent dreads," Sally said.

Sally, who is a nurse, flew out the next day to be with her son as he lay in intensive care.

She said: "I was completely in shock and it wasn't until I went up into his bedroom that it hit me and I burst into tears.

"I just needed to get out there and be with him."

As well as an operation on his leg, Sam has had to have reconstructive surgery to repair the extensive damage to his nose that had made him almost unrecognisable to his own mother.

Sally said: "When I arrived he was covered in cuts and bruises and had tubes coming out of him. His nose was so badly broken that I almost didn't recognise him at all "

Leaking spinal fluids meant that Sam was also susceptible to the risk of meningitis, increasing the family's worries.

"Friends and family have been very supportive. They told me they've been praying for Sam's safe return and I just can't thank them enough."

Yesterday Sam was taking a totally different approach to life.

He said; "The fall has made me appreciate life more and I'm definitely going to be more careful in future."

Victoria Ashford