The father of a Bay of Plenty teen who was left paralysed after a freak accident says his son will do everything he can to make a good recovery.

Sam Fitness finished Te Puke High School last year and was gearing up to study geophysics at the University of Auckland, but had to put his plans on hold after a fall from a tree on December 28 left him a tetraplegic.

Sam Fitness, pictured with his parents Karl and Cherie, was paralysed after a freak accident.

The 17-year-old was transported by helicopter from Tauranga Hospital to Auckland's Middlemore Hospital where he underwent two operations following the fall in which he fractured his C5 vertebrae.

He has been left with movement only in his head, neck and shoulders.

Karl Fitness and his wife Cherie have left their home in Papamoa to be by their son's side.

The couple have moved into a hotel near the hospital and say they would not have it any other way.

'We're happy we're in Auckland because it's the right place to be for Sam and we're just waiting for things to get better,” Karl told Stuff.

The family is taking it one day at a time, says Karl, with setbacks such as unexpected infections.

However, Sam is making progress and has recently moved from the intensive care unit to the high-dependency unit.

His next move will be to a ward and eventually the Auckland Spinal Rehabilitation Unit in Otara.

While it's a big thing for a 17-year-old to go through, Sam has remained positive.

'He'll do everything in his power to make a really good recovery,” says Karl.

Karl says his son's bicep movements are good, which gives him hope he would regain wrist movement in the future, but no-one is making any promises when it comes to the recovery.

Sam was a house captain at Te Puke High School and is known for his love of the outdoors and the beach.

Sam's uncle David Broomhead set up a Givealittle page so people could donate money to help the family pay for his recovery and future needs.

Karl says it's against the family's nature to ask for money but friends and family wanted to help.

Sam has a lot of outdoor interests, including hockey, football, tennis and fishing – and he caught his first marlin at 16.

ACC won't pay for everything so the money would help when it came to getting things like a specially-designed beach buggy or extra physio sessions.

Though he's concentrating on his recovery at the moment, his father says Sam would probably still want to do things like go to university in the future.

Sam's sister has gone back to school in Te Puke and was being looked after by her grandmother in the family home.

'We've had lots of support from family and friends,” adds Karl.

Karl says it's a shocking process to go through and it was all caused by a freak accident.

To visit Sam's Givealittle page and donate, visit: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/samfitness