A Kiwi father has spoken of his son's "courage and resilience" in the months following an accident at his school in the UK which resulted in amputation of both legs below the knee.
Chase Allan, 15, suffered severe electrical burns when he and two friends came into contact with overhead powerlines on a playing field at Millfield School in Street, Somerset on May 3.
His father Travis Allan told 1News the three boys were attempting to retrieve some rugby boots from the powerlines using a rugby goal post just over 5m high when they were electrocuted.
"They're white plastic on the outside, but they're actually metal on the inside. So the three boys basically picked it up, one at the front, Chase was in the middle and then one of the boys [supporting] the bottom.
"Apparently they've knocked it once, but with this overhead power line, I think the second time they've gone for it, obviously it's pulled it... and I mean they're all super lucky to actually be alive because a lot of people don't actually survive this."
He said staff walking on the grounds at the time immediately rushed to the scene after hearing the "explosion" that sent all three boys flying.
Allan said initially Chase was in such a critical condition that the NHS team at Bristol Children's Hospital were "worried he's not going to make it through the night".
"We literally walked in to having to sign forms for debridement of muscle and possible amputation, like straight into that. So that let us know straight away kind of how serious it was," he said.
Allan said during the first few days in the ICU Chase was given heavy drugs as staff battled to save him.
"It wasn't until one of the nurses just said, kind of as we were standing there, about his kidneys, because they were talking about the possibility of putting him on dialysis because he was having all this blood in his urine.
"So that was the first time for those first two, three nights that we were obviously in a situation where we weren't sure - it was touch and go."
Support from NZ
In the weeks that followed, Chase was moved to Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in London to be treated closer to where his family lives, while others from Allan's extended family flew over from New Zealand to support the whānau.
Allan said tearfully his son's "courage and resilience has been unbelievable" throughout all 14 life-altering surgeries, including after the surgeons had taken the right leg — and some toes on the left — when he was told of the possibility he could lose his second leg.
"And he said, 'look, I trust you guys, so whatever you need to do, you need to do'.
"And there was another time when his mum was in the room and she was getting really upset. And he said, 'mum, what are you crying for?... just let them take the leg, you know, it's going to be OK'.
Allan said during the first two months in hospital they had been "in fight or flight mode the whole time".
"For me, it's a privilege to be able to care for the ones that you love when they're in their most vulnerable moments. So, it was, I mean, it still is, it's been a hell of a journey."
He said as a parent he felt "a lot of anger" and feelings of shame and guilt following the accident.
"As a parent, your job is to try and protect your kids.
"[Chase] said: 'don't be silly. You know it was an accident and these things shouldn't happen, but it happened'. And he just went, 'I think I was supposed to go through this to become stronger and I need you to lock in'," he laughed.
Allan said a family member started a GiveALittle page for donations towards Chase's ongoing rehabilitation and the support needed for his future, which the community from Millfield and those back in New Zealand quickly rallied around.
A 'super athletic kid'
Allan said his son had always been humble about his sporting prowess while growing up, but had begun to show signs of being "super athletic".
He said having a South African mum and Kiwi dad, Chase came from a sport-mad extended whānau including players from New Zealand men's national softball team, the Black Sox, and the only New Zealand woman to play in the NBA, Megan Compain.
He held no doubt Chase could keep going with his athletic passions for track sprinting, basketball or rugby in the future.
"People have talked to him like, 'oh maybe you might want to do this', or people have said, 'man, I bet you he's going to win a gold medal at the Paralympics'. But at the moment if you showed him blades [for athletes with prosthetics], he's like, ‘I don't want those’ because they stand out, or they're not going to fit in, or they're funny."
"It's just one of those things where he's gone from just getting into things and things coming super easy for him, but him not having that work ethic, to now being like I said to him, 'son, if you want something now, you're going to have to work for it'.
"So it will be interesting to see what sort of happens in that space if he chooses to want to do these things," Allan said.
Millfield School declined to comment on the incident, but previously a spokesperson told the BBC they were working closely with authorities to investigate how the accident occurred.
SHARE ME