Father thrown into the air by faulty
hoverboard is left with AMNESIA and no memory of Christmas
A father who who hit his head in an accident after being
thrown to the ground by a faulty hoverboard has been left with amnesia. Mark Tamlin, of Chessington, Surrey, ordered the gadget to
give to his oldest son for Christmas - but was dismayed when it didn't work.
The 39-year-old says the online company he bought it from
sent him a video tutorial to fix it, and he managed to get it working. But when his son 12-year-old son Owen said it was still
faulty, he decided to try the device himself.
Moments after jumping on, he was thrown into the air before
hitting his head hard on the ground.
Upon waking, he found himself in a hospital bed, unable to
remember Christmas with his family.
Mr Tamlin, a civil engineer, said: ‘When I was thrown off
it, both my sons were apparently screaming and crying. They were terrified.'He added: 'It’s lucky I was on it and not one of my sons -
one of them could have been seriously hurt. 'The gadget, a two-wheeled toy, became the ‘must have’
present of this year after celebrities such as Kendall Jenner, Jessica Alba and
Qiz Khalifa were been seen riding it. But they have now fallen out of favour following a spate of
controversial incidents.
Not only have hoverboards triggered a spike in accidents,
leading to A&E visits, but they have also been linked to several fires -
thought to be caused by the flammable lithium-ion batteries and the
hoverboards' electronic wiring. Major retailers including Amazon and Argos have either
recalled the products or offered to refund anyone who bought them, amid
concerns they are unsafe and continue to remain a fire hazard.In one case, a hover board that exploded while charging
nearly killed three children.
Mr Tamlin's accident occurred on December 27 when his son
came to open his Christmas presents - and they discovered his new
hoverboard wasn’t working.
‘I tried to work out what was going on with it so jumped on
and had a go myself. The next thing I knew I was in hospital,’ Mr Tamlin said. ‘I don’t know what happened, but my sons told me it started
vibrating really fast. 'Then it threw me up in the air and I hit the back of my
head on the ground.’
Mr Tamlin woke up in hospital after his partner of nine
years, Angela Taylor, drove him to A&E.
It’s
lucky I was on it and not one of my sons, then it would have been a different
story, one of them could have been seriously hurt.
Mark
Tamlin, 39 Now, he says he does not remember all of Christmas day,
Boxing Day, or the day the accident happened. Head injuries that cause a concussion, such as from an
accident can lead to memory loss. Immediately after the accident, it is common to be confused
and have problems remembering new information. But head injuries usually don't cause severe amnesia, say
doctors from the Mayo Clinic. Mr Tamlin said: ‘I remember none of the day it happened,
parts of Boxing Day and some of Christmas Day are also a bit of a blur. ‘The doctor said when I first come in he asked me what year
it was and I apparently said 2010.
‘When I came out of hospital I didn’t remember who got me
what presents.
I was asking my partner “what’s this?” and she said “that’s
yours, it’s a present from my sister”.
‘I still don’t remember much about the day, I only know what
people have told me and from photos I’ve seen.’ However, despite forgetting Christmas and suffering ongoing
headaches, his memory is no
longer affected.
longer affected.
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