Top sportsman breaks neck

Little Jaeden and Damian went with Mum Karyn to visit Dad in hospital. Photo / Herald on Sunday

A world-ranked Kiwi waterski jumper may be unable to return to the sport after breaking his neck during a crash in training.

Kyle Eade, 34, suffered serious spinal injuries and trauma around the chest after landing on the back of his neck during a botched jump at a lake in Canterbury.

The married father of two young boys almost immediately lost feeling in his arms and legs and is likely to be immobilised for several weeks.

He says he was a little out of position when he hit the ramp. He was whipped around by the towrope before crashing on to the water.

"At my level you don't crash a lot so it's quite hard when you take them.

"As I was going through the air I was thinking, when you go backwards you hurt your ankles, your knees and your neck so you prepare for that ... but this time when I hit the water it was a totally different sensation. I mean, I wasn't winded or knocked out ... I felt a bit of pain in my neck basically."

Kyle, who is ranked fifth in the world and known as the Flying Kiwi, knew he had problems when he ended up face down in the water and was trying to bring his head up to breathe.

"I could move my neck around a bit but I couldn't move my arms or legs. I felt my left arm and it wasn't where I thought it was."

The former Xtreme World Cup Jump champion and 15-time New Zealand champion said his boat crew got to him quickly and carefully rolled him over so he could get some air.

They tied him to keep him straight, took him to the side of the lake and dialled 111.

He was flown to hospital in Christchurch before being transferred to the Burwood spinal unit where he is recovering under the watch of wife Karyn and sons Jaeden, 2, and Damian, 1.

Kyle, who has been in the world top 10 for a decade and has a best jump of 69.9m, says he has feeling everywhere and doctors are particularly pleased by "flickers"in his legs.

But he has to be rolled from side to side every three hours and will need the same treatment for months.

Karyn was in Auckland with Kyle's parents, Murray, a former Kiwi league international, and Alison when she heard her husband had crashed.

She said it was his worst accident "by a long shot".

"Normally Kyle tells me to take care of the boys ... but [this time he] wanted me down there because it was serious."

She said Jaeden was old enough to know something was up but Damian didn't fully understand. She had told them "Daddy is resting".

"It was hard for them to see their Daddy in pain, and obviously I was a bit worried and out of sorts," said Karyn.

"Obviously this is a life-changing experience but all things considered we are pretty lucky.

"We have strong supportive families and friends."

Kyle, who lives with his family in Florida, where he co-owns a waterski school, spends part of every summer in New Zealand.

He crashed as he was training for a a major tournament in Melbourne where he was aiming to go one better than last year's second place.

He's likely to need at least a year to recover and says it's too soon to think about getting back on the water.

"I am trying hard not to get down. At this stage to be back on my feet would be the go. Back on the skis - well that's further down the road."

Members of the waterski community have launched an appeal to help fund Kyle's recovery.

* For more information about the fundraising appeal visit skifly.com