An Alberta teen is in serious condition after an accident at a trampoline park.
Landon Smith, 18, is at the University of Alberta Hospital, and has undergone surgery for a broken neck and spinal cord damage. Smith was injured when he jumped in a foam pit with a trampoline base at Jump Park Trampoline in Sherwood Park, Alta.
"It's a long road ahead for the kid," Jordan Smith, the teen's brother told The Huffington Post Canada on Tuesday, adding he will be in the intensive care unit for several days, and long-term effects aren't known yet.
"He has some feeling in parts of his legs and feet but no movement there yet. He's moving his arms and hand slightly though," Jordan said.
While his brother's health is the family's priority, Jordan said it's important that people hear about Landon's experience — and hopefully learn from it.
"It's really important for people to realize that this could be anyone," he said. "In the matter of a couple seconds it could be them and the last thing I want is for this to happen to another family."
Jump Park Trampoline acknowledged the incident on Facebook Monday, saying they are offering the family any support they can.
The venue explained that its foam pit follows industry standards. The post said that an inspection following the accident found nothing faulty with the equipment.
"We are committed to the safety of our guests and will continue to cause our equipment to be inspected on a daily basis as we have since we opened," it read.
Trampoline parks have long been the cause of safety concerns. Experts routinely warn of hazards, but the parks are growing in popularity.
The International Association of Trampoline Parks estimated that about 50 million North Americans visited them in 2015, according to NPR. The popularity is contrasted by American Academy of Pediatrics "strongly" discouraging the use of trampolines.
A report by the Canadian Paediatric Society raised similar concerns, saying trampoline injuries are usually more severe than those from other sports and recreational activities.
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