A teenager has been left with a broken neck after a freak accident while trying to cool down in the water during a heatwave.
Aiden Sloan, 19, was at a beach in New Hampshire on June 23 when he plowed head-first into a sandbar while diving into a wave, as reported by Fox News.
Temperatures had soared to almost 90°F that day when the teen, who works in a noodle bar at a casino, misjudged the depth of the water and was knocked unconscious.
According to NBC affiliate WBTS-CD, Sloan’s cousins revealed that they dragged him from the water after the look on his face indicated something was wrong.
"He was just, like, not moving at all," family member Gabriel Ruiz shared. "It was like we were carrying a dead body."
A GoFundMe page has since been launched to help cover Sloan’s medical bills, raising more than $41,995 as of this writing. The accident left him with a broken neck, a bruised spine, and a concussion.
In an update from June 27, the 19-year-old's mom, Melina Burton, shared that her son was unable to squeeze or move his fingers. While he can slightly move his left knee, he has no movement on the right, although he can control both arms.
Burton also revealed that Sloan has been having nightmares since the accident and needed to be woken by a nurse after he feared he was drowning again.
“When I left, he was sleeping comfortably and was going to be given some medication for anxiety and nightmares,” she added.
Burton said she is hopeful that her son will soon be moved out of the intensive care unit.
Speaking to Fox News, the mom said her son feels “defeated” when doctors ask him if he is able to move his body.
"He doesn't understand why they keep asking him to try these things. So he's very tearful. He's very emotional today, which for anybody who knows Aiden, it is not who he is at all. He is always smiling and joking and happy," she said.
"And even when, you know, life isn't going so great for him, he is still always just trying to make people laugh. So to see him so defeated and hopeless right now is really heartbreaking," she added.
According to the outlet, Sloan's employer is helping to support his recovery by donating a portion of sales toward his medical expenses.
"A member of our Greenleaf family, Aiden Sloan, unfortunately suffered a serious neck injury while having a fun day at Hampton Beach earlier this week," Greenleaf Milford wrote. "Aiden joined our Greenleaf family at a young age, and we watched him grow as a person and a cook over the years and he and his family have our full love and support during these difficult times."