Fluke accident on family vacation leaves B.C. father with spinal injuries

A freak accident on a remote island off the coast of Nicaragua has left a B.C. father with significant spinal injuries and an uncertain future.

Bryan Anderson, who was born and raised in Victoria and has lived in Golden for the past decade, was saved by his 15-year-old son, Edward, who pulled his father’s head above the water and prevented him from drowning.

Anderson, 50, was with his wife Amie, Edward and 11-year-old daughter Amaya visiting the Corn Islands, about 70 kilometres east of the Nicaraguan mainland, when the accident happened.

Anderson was swimming on April 16 when he was tossed by strong waves and hit his head on the ocean bottom, said his sister Tina Horwood of Victoria. The impact rendered Anderson unable to move his body.

He was airlifted to ­Managua for surgery on his spinal cord and remained there in an induced coma until Friday, when arrangements were being made to have a private jet fly him to Vancouver General Hospital for further treatment.