‘I Was A Millimetre Away From Instant Death’: Steve Mercieca Opens Up About Horrific Zorb Ball Accident
Steve Mercieca was one of the two guests on this week’s Lovin Live show, and while the young entrepreneur had inspirational speeches and jokes aplenty, he also opened up about a serious accident which not only made it to national news, but nearly killed him.
Last July, Steve was in a serious accident which saw him jump off Għajn Tuffieħa’s Riviera Martinique cliff in a zorb ball, falling three storeys and ending up on the rocks below. The key to understanding that fateful evening last July, however, goes back over five years.
Ever the daredevil, Mercieca used to form part of the notorious Maltese Maniacs, a young group of friends who mixed comedy with daring stunts. “That did end up going down the wrong road,” Steve told Lovin Malta’s Chucky Bartolo. “I actually broke both my hands at the same time, and when that happened I decided to give up the videos”.
It was at this point that Steve decided to instead focus on work and starting his own business, something which he quickly found a great deal of success with thanks to Quicklets, and later even Zanzi Homes. Fast forward to 2017, and Steve still had a taste for adventure… like skydiving naked with his wife. After hiring an adult bouncy castle for their wedding and four days before their four-month honeymoon in Bali, Steve found himself on the cliffs of Riviera Martinique for a zorb ball jump which quickly went very wrong.
When the accident happened, Steve was reported as having “sustained serious injuries”, but during this week’s episode of Lovin Live, the 31-year-old opened up about just how serious the accident really was.
“I broke my neck, and the doctors told me I was a millimetre away from instant death,” Steve said. “My phrenic nerve would’ve collapsed and I wouldn’t have been able to breathe. They weren’t sure if I would walk, no one knew”.
Photo from the Times of Malta news report last July
Considering the accident happened just over three months ago, seeing Steve casually walking in and sitting on the Lovin Live sofa was quite a feat in of itself. “I’m pretty sure it was a miracle,” he said. “I kept telling myself I’m going to make it, I’m going to be able to walk again, and my family and friends were around me all the time.”
Steve also had very positive things to say about Malta’s own hospital service, which he said rivalled and outshone other Europe services he has needed before. “We have a lot of chaos in Malta, but the hospital and the operation was amazing. It was very professional.”
Steve’s recovery has been dotted with milestones, from being able to walk again, to jogging, to now even running. “It was something I wanted to do after I broke my neck,” he said. “I said I’d run a marathon in March, so hopefully I’ll get there. If not I’ll walk it, but I’ll try run it for sure.”
With his life slowly going back to normal, Steve definitely has his plate full thanks to his wife Zanna, their daughter India, and his constant business ventures.
This summer, Steve helped supply 300 children in Ghana with internet for a whole year, along with 120 books and huge packets of Twistees. Earlier this year, Zanzi Homes launched a new initiative called #Treedom which saw the company planting one tree for every home they sell. “We dream of a Malta more connected to nature,” the campaign’s aspirational video had announced.
“This is all a foreseeing vision of what we want to do,” Steve said closing off the programme. “By 2020 want to be able to build or renovate a house in Africa for every house we sell. Next year, with every property we rent, we’ll sponsor a child’s education in Africa”.
You can watch this week’s full Lovin Live episode – which also featured the lovely and hilarious Pawla (ta’ Liquorish) right here.
We’d like to thank our sponsors throughout the show, Satariano Home for the stunning furniture, Laferla for insuring Chucky, P. Cutajar for the wine, Kaxxa Packaging, and Muscats Motors for graciously providing Chucky’s ride!
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