Friends raise $100K for ‘good mate’ paralysed after diving into Sydney pool

A group of friends have raised an incredible $100,000 to support their partner who is now paralyzed from the chest down after diving into a shallow pool on a Sydney beach.

Haruto Morishita, 22, is described by friends as an avid surfer, skateboarder, photographer and versatile “good pal”.

After moving to Sydney’s northern beaches on a working holiday visa earlier this year, Mr Morishita has quickly found his feet in his new city.

Everything changed in the blink of an eye when he dove into an ocean pool at Dee Why Beach and hit his head on the bottom on October 27.

Mr Morishita suffered a fractured cervical vertebrae which left “serious damage” to his spinal cord.

“Although conscious, he was unable to move his arms or legs and was transported in a police-escorted ambulance to Royal North Shore Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery to align and stabilize his spine. broken,” his friend Tony Fry wrote on his GoFundMe. page.

Sharing an update from his hospital bed, Mr Morishita said he was working on his recovery so everyone could meet him as his “recovered self one day”.

“First of all, I would like to apologize to everyone for causing a lot of worry and concern following an accident that I caused myself,” he said. declared.

“I would also like to express my undying gratitude to everyone for their overwhelming support, from those who have known me before to those I have yet to have the pleasure of meeting.

“I will convert all of your support into strength and work as hard as I can on my rehab journey. I will work hard every day to be able to meet you one day as my recovered self.

The campaign has already raised $99,371 to help reduce the cost of what is expected to be a “long and expensive” road to recovery.

As Mr Morishita holds a short-stay visa, he can only access limited insurance cover and his relatives still do not know how much it is.

Paralyzed from the chest down and struggling to breathe on his own, the young man’s life changed dramatically.

He has now been on life support and is able to speak, but Mr Morishita has been told his body will never be the same again.

“We have been advised that the odds of his body movement returning to what it once was are close to zero, as the damaged spinal cord cannot be repaired,” Mr Fry said.

“But our Haruto, despite these traumatic events, is in good spirits. “When can I start physio? was one of the first things he asked since he was able to speak.

Mr Morishita’s parents applied for emergency passports and flew to Sydney as soon as they could, but had to return home to put their affairs in order.

“Our family is filled with gratitude for everyone’s heartwarming messages and support,” they shared on the GoFundMe page.

“We will be supporting him in any way we can, so if you could keep cheering him on, we would be forever grateful.”

Mr Fry thanked the heroic efforts of northern beach residents on behalf of Mr Morishita and his family after they rushed to the aid of the 22-year-old in the moments after the horrific crash.

“The local northern beach community who didn’t hesitate to help our dear friend at the pool,” he said.

He also thanked paramedics, police, firefighters and healthcare staff at the Royal North Shore Hospital, where Mr Morishita remains in the intensive care unit.