A holiday to Benidorm ended in horror when a dad broke his neck and back – after being ‘pushed into a shallow pool as a joke’.
Martin Bullen was at a Benidorm pool party on June 10 when he claims somebody who he ‘didn’t know’ playfully pushed him into the water.
The dad-of-two said he had no idea how shallow the water was so when he was pushed, he tried to dive in but split his head open on the bottom of the pool.
Luckily one of the worried partygoers that stepped in to get the 31-year-old out of the pool was an army medic so knew to keep him still until an ambulance arrived.
Martin, who works as a sales adviser, was then taken to a nearby hospital where docs gave him 16 stitches in his head and found that he had fractured his neck in three places and broken his back.
He explained that the trip to Benidorm with his cousins was intended to have a break from being a busy single dad.
Prior to the holiday, Martin had gone to book travel insurance but got distracted before paying and forgot to purchase it – a mistake he dubbed ‘stupid’.
Martin said the hospital stay and extra flights cost £1,500 and he is now urging holidaymakers travelling this summer not to make the same ‘daft mistake’ as him.
Martin, from Wigan, Greater Manchester, said: ‘I was having a drink but I had my wits about me and stuff. Somebody pushed me into the pool and I didn’t know it was a shallow pool.
‘I’m thinking I’ll just dive in and dive back up and my head hit the floor straight away and it split open my head.
‘It was quite scary. I’ll be honest, there was at one point I thought I was going to die on my own [in hospital] because I didn’t know what was going on or who to talk to.
‘Basically I knew about travel insurance but I have two children and I live on my own with them. I have them full time. It’s a bit manic with everything going on.
‘It was a moment of madness [not to take out insurance]. I was looking at getting it, I put it in the WhatsApp group for my cousins to get it and as I went to do mine something came up with the kids.
‘Then it just slipped my mind and then I forgot all about it and didn’t get it done.
‘It was a daft mistake. I knew I needed to get it.
‘I think one of the kids hurt themselves outside or something and I rushed out to sort it and then I got back and got distracted.
‘Failure to prepare is preparing to fail, that’s the best thing I could say.’
Thankfully Martin was able to fly home on June 16 and said doctors at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan have found five fractures in his neck and back.
He said he still needs to wear a neck brace and can only walk or stand for about five minutes before he needs to sit down.
He is awaiting further scans to find out the extent of the damage and what his recovery will be like.
His dad, Scott Bullen, 63, flew out to be with him in hospital and was luckily able to help him with hospital costs but now Martin is raising money through GoFundMe to be able to pay his dad back.
Martin said: ‘I can see how it could be portrayed dead easily as a boozy Brit in Benidorm who has done this but to be honest with you I wasn’t drunk.
‘It was a freak accident because I didn’t know the pool was shallow.
‘I’m a full-time dad and I try and work my hardest and try and bring them up the best I can do.
‘I’m not one of those idiots, I have a lot of responsibilities and I take pride in them.
‘I’m either a dad or I’m at work. I’m never Martin and that’s what this time away was for me.
‘When I was in the hospital on my own I just needed my dad. Then when my dad came it was all about, I needed to land back home.
‘When the plane landed he [Martin’s dad] was looking at me and I burst out in tears.
‘I’ve got two boys full time on my own, luckily my dad helped me with upfront costs, which I’ve got to pay back because he’s retired.
‘I know it’s going to be a long road to recovery but I’ve got through the hard part, which was getting home and being around people who can support me.’
