WALKING MIRACLE
Fatialofa takes first steps on long road to recovery
MICHAEL FATIALOFA was lying paralysed in a hospital bed in unbearable pain.
Unable to move after fracturing a vertebrae in a tackle that went horribly wrong, all the stricken Worcester second-row could do was hear the chilling sounds of the intensive care unit at St Mary’s Hospital. “It’s a time that’s tough to think about,” he said. “My roommates were victims of gun violence and stabbings and I could hear everything going on. “I heard some people die next to me. It was traumatising.” Three months on, Fatialofa, left, is walking again. He spent a fortnight in the specialist unit in London, fighting to regain feeling after the freak accident in a Premiership match against Saracens. “It was just the perfect mix – my head was in a bad position, a hip was there and it was just one of those things,” the Kiwi told New Zealand TV station 1 NEWS. “From my neck down, I couldn’t feel anything or move anything. It was pretty scary and I was really short of breath.” Fatiolofa underwent an emergency operation to relieve the pressure – the pain was “unbearable” – but there was no immediate progress. “I was pretty scared,” he said. The first inkling of hope for the 27-year-old came when he found he was able to move one of his fingers.
“When I got that one finger, I didn’t want to go back to sleep,” said Fatialofa. Ten days ago at a specialist spinal unit in Aylesbury, a video was released of him walking unassisted. It was, his wife Tatiana declared, a “miracle”.
He is pleased at his rediscovered mobility but not finished yet on his long road to recovery. “Walking is the tip of the iceberg with these types of injuries,” he said. “My hands are probably the hardest thing for me – getting my hands functioning. My left hand pretty much does nothing.”