A teenager has been left in daily "agony" after a schoolyard injury was mistakenly dismissed for more than a year.
Sebastian Wohler, from Skelmersdale, was playing football during a lunchtime break in January 2023 when he jumped for the ball and landed awkwardly, jarring his back. What he and his family assumed would be a minor strain quickly escalated into constant, debilitating pain.
His mum, Val Wohler, 46, was initially told by doctors that it was likely to be a minor injury. The aspiring rugby player, 16, was informed he had probably "pulled a muscle" and was advised to take painkillers, despite numerous visits to A&E.
Val told the ECHO: "He came home one day from school and he just said his back was hurting. He'd been playing football with his friends in school on a break. He jumped ahead of the ball and when he landed he didn't bend his legs and felt like his legs had went up into his back.
"They examined him but they said x-ray was fine. They just said that he's probably just pulled a muscle or something and told him to take painkillers. So I gave him painkillers over the next few days, but the pain got worse."
Val says she brought her son back to A&E on several occasions about the problem but was repeatedly told that he was fine. Eventually, he underwent a CT scan and doctors subsequently informed the family that Sebastian might have arthritis, like his older sister.
Val shared: "When they said it was arthritis, they told him to carry on playing his rugby because if it was arthritis, he would seize up if he stopped."
Despite this, Sebastian's discomfort persisted and began to impact other areas of his life. He had been offered a spot at a rugby academy but was unable to accept due to his condition.
His pain also limited his ability to socialise with his mates outside of school. Val asked for a second opinion and they were referred to another hospital, who managed to uncover what was causing her son's pain in July 2024.
Val said: "It was a telephone call. They just said, they've looked at the CT scan and it looks like he's got a fracture of his spine, which I was totally shocked about.
"I thought it could be a pulled muscle because he plays rugby. Then I thought the arthritis might make sense because his sister has it. When they said it was a fracture, I was in total shock."
Throughout this time, Sebastian has suffered physically and mentally. Val said: "While he was in school, he was in a lot of pain.
"He's in absolute agony when he tries to sit up. He got really really fed up, he just wanted to stay in his room all the time. Obviously he's left school now because he's done his GCSEs. He's lost his friends because he hasn't been able to go out. He's in pain.
"He's in college now for two and a half days now, so he's found that a bit better, but he's still in absolute pain."
In March this year, doctors discussed having surgery on Sebastian's fractured spine. They argued that it could prevent his spine from slipping, which would leave him paralysed.
However, Val believes this surgery comes with its own risks. It involves putting rods and pins in Sebastian's spine to secure it, but it could also cause paralysis from the waist down. He will also need more surgeries further down the line too.
Val said: "When they've discussed surgery, they've got to tell you the worst case scenario, and they said the surgery can actually cause someone to be paralysed.
"Sebastian then said, 'I don't want the surgery'. They said, you can't wait really, because the slippage can cause him to be paralysed anyway.
"Because of his age, he's going to need more surgeries as the years go on. I didn't want to do that, and I just think it's just too risky for him, being so young. They said they can't be 100% sure that it will take the pain away. It's just scary having that invasive surgery."
A glimmer of hope is spinal stem cell therapy. This is used to repair diseased, dysfunctional or injured tissue using stem cells or their derivatives.
Val, Sebastian and the family believe it is a far safer alternative to the one proposed but it is not available in the UK. Val has started a fundraiser, aiming to raise £12,000 to cover the cost of the surgery, which would take place in Utah in the USA.
Val said: "I really didn't want to do the GoFundMe. I don't really ask people for money, but a lot of people were telling us to, so I thought, I might as well try it.
"I thought, if we get the money, then you can try the stem cell and hopefully that works and he's fine with it before we have to decide whether we do the invasive surgery over here.
"I've only included the cost of the surgery on GoFundMe. We'll have to save up for our flights ourselves."
For the time being, life continues to be a struggle for Sebastian. Val said: "He's just been so fed up because he can't do anything and he's had to quit rugby.
"He wanted to get an apprenticeship for BAE Systems and an electrician and wanted a bike to travel there, but he hasn't even been able to go on that because he's in so much pain."
You can find out more about the fundraiser here.