Mom tells of paraglider’s horror accident
The mother of a badly injured paraglider tells of the sickening accident in which her son crashed and burned
HE KNEW he was in serious trouble. Usually when he was attached to his paraglider Kelvin van Baalen felt a deep sense of exhilaration but not this time – he could see something bad was about to happen. Although Kelvin (21) frantically twisted in a desperate bid to change direction, he was painfully aware his efforts were in vain. It was too late. And then he felt it: the jolt of electrical current as he crashed into the power lines that cut across the blue sky.
His mother, Leigh, takes a deep breath as she tells YOU the traumatic story. When her son regained consciousness he was on the ground burning, she tells us.
“For a moment he thought he was dying – and that scared him. Then adrenalin kicked in and he rolled around on the ground to try to kill the flames.”
But that, along with sparks from the power lines, set the grass around him alight and Kelvin was forced to climb a tree to escape the flames. That’s where his father, Douglas (51), and the emergency services found him minutes later – naked, traumatised and with serious burn wounds.
Leigh (46) says her ex-husband instinctively scooped Kelvin up in his arms and ran to the ambulance.
“You can’t imagine how a father feels while he’s carrying his adult son in his arms. It’s horrific.”
Back then Kelvin’s family were just relieved he was still alive. They had no idea the months of heartache and worry that lay ahead.
BIRDS are chirping in the lush garden of Leigh’s home in Orange Grove, Johannesburg. It’s a sunny afternoon and spring is in full bloom. Before the accident this was her favourite time of year, Leigh tells us as she shakily lights a cigarette.
But not this year. Because while nature is celebrating new life her son has been fighting for his for more than two months in Milpark Hospital.
The accident, which occurred on 29 June while he was participating in a paragliding competition in Barberton, Mpumalanga, left him with burns over two-thirds of his body.
It’s so bad he was recently put in a medically induced coma for a second time, Leigh says, her voice breaking.
What really shatters her is that the tragedy was almost avoided.
“The previous evening Kelvin had said he was going to withdraw,” she says. “The weather conditions weren’t favourable and he was worried. But the next morning he got up and decided to go ahead. Then the accident happened.”
Although Leigh can’t tell us what made him decide to compete she does know one thing for sure. “Nothing will ever be the same,” she says.
KELVIN has always been sporty, Leigh says. From the time he was a teen, he started accompanying Douglas, a paragliding enthusiast, watching in awe from the ground as the
‘I was always terrified something would go wrong – now I’m living my worst nightmare’
‘If you’re an adrenalin junkie you’re always looking for a challenge’
grown-ups soared above him.
Paragliding is a sport in which participants launch themselves off hilltops and mountains with a canopy similar to a parachute attached to their bodies, which allows them to glide and soar through the air.
Shortly after he turned 16 Kelvin got his licence and started paragliding with his dad – and from the first time he was hooked, Leigh says.
“I’ve never seen my child paraglide,” she adds. “I’ve always believed it’s an extremely dangerous sport and that’s why I’ve never supported it. I was always terrified something would go wrong – and now I’m living my worst nightmare.”
Kelvin, who completed a BA degree at the University of the Witwatersrand, was one of South Africa’s most promising paragliders. He’d paraglided hundreds of times and competed in dozens of competitions without a single incident, winning medals along the way.
On 29 June Kelvin and Douglas were competing in the last day of the Barberton Paragliding Open.
“They were aware of the risk – the weather wasn’t optimal for gliding,” Leigh says, eyes glistening.
The wind was blowing in the wrong direction over the open piece of veld where the competition was taking place and there weren’t enough air currents to guarantee they’d be able to achieve sustained heights.
“But if you participate in this extreme sport and you’re an adrenalin junkie you’re always looking for a challenge,” Leigh says. “And there’s always a point where it’s one challenge too many.”
Kelvin had been in the air for only about 30 minutes when the wind caused him to drift into a neighbouring farm.
“He saw the power lines a minute before he crashed into them,” Leigh explains.
Luckily another paraglider saw what had happened and radioed for help.
Leigh was out shopping with her and Douglas’ younger son, Tyrin (18), when she got the call to alert her to what had happened.
Her eyes well up again. “My heart stopped. I collapsed and handed the cellphone to Tyrin.”
When the helicopter landed at Joburg’s Milpark Hospital Leigh was there waiting.
“I’ll never forget the sound of that helicopter. You know your child’s in there – but you don’t know if he’ll be alive or dead when they open the door.”
She and Douglas paced the hospital corridors for hours, waiting for news.
It was bleak. Kelvin had suffered thirdand fourth-degree burns over 62% of his body and the electric shock had also caused major internal damage.
“The surgeon immediately told us there was a long road ahead. I knew he’d never be the old Kelvin again.”
Due to the trauma to his body Kelvin was put in a medically induced coma for a month straight after the accident. So far he’s undergone 17 skin grafts, with more to come. Doctors also fear he might lose his left leg because of the damage to it.
Leigh tells us two weeks after the accident doctors were doubtful Kelvin was going to pull through.
He was still in such agony that doctors recently decided to put him in a coma again for a few days.
Even now, almost three months after the tragedy, Kelvin is still convinced he’s burning on a daily basis. Her son is in constant pain, Leigh says, and repeatedly asks for ice packs to keep close to him because he feels like he’s still engulfed in flames.
Doctors suspect it’s psychological trauma that’s causing him to think this, as his body temperature is constantly regulated.
ey’ve also had to lower the dosage of his pain medication because his body is building resistance to it. On top of this, he’s battling infection and the possibility of sepsis.
But thankfully there’s a silver lining. Doctors have assured them that even if Kelvin were to lose his leg, he’d still be able to paraglide. Though Leigh’s not sure he’d want to.
“On his good days he wants to teach all the hospital staff to paraglide. But when he’s down he wants nothing to do with it.”
But amid all this uncertainty there’s one thing his mother knows for sure.
“If he wants to go paragliding again, the first time he does I’ll be there to cheer him on.”
The organisation Hero Burn has started a campaign to raise funds for Kelvin’s rehabilitation. Go to heroburn.org for more information.