I’m so lucky I didn’t get on that plane’ Wales lock Adam Beard on the medical emergency that almost ended his World Cup hopes
ADAM Beard thought he was having stomach cramps the night before he was due to depart for his first Rugby World Cup.
It was nothing a few tablets from the team doctor wouldn’t sort out. So he thought.
But what the towering lock believed was simply trapped wind, turned out to be something far more serious. He didn’t know it yet, but he had appendicitis.
The pain got progressively worse as he travelled with the Wales squad up to Heathrow on the bus, ready to fly out to Tokyo last month.
Upon arrival at the airport, medics examined him further and decided he shouldn’t travel, sending him for further examinations.
“I didn’t think anything of it really,” recalled Beard as he sat in the lobby of Wales’ hotel in Otsu.
“I texted our doctor when I got up on the Wednesday morning and said ‘I’ve got a bit of a bad stomach, can I have some tablets on the way up?’ He said ‘No problem.’
“We were travelling as a squad up to Heathrow and my stomach was getting worse and a bit more painful. When we got to Heathrow the doctors assessed me and when they were feeling around it was a bit painful around the appendix.
“Dr Geoff (Davies) felt I wasn’t fit enough to fly and that I had to be seen back at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.”
Warren Gatland and 30 of his World Cup squad boarded a flight bound for Japan, Beard had to get back on the team bus.
Driver Alan Martin took the Ospreys lock straight to the Heath in Cardiff and dropped him at A&E, where he was met by one of the squad’s physiotherapists, John Miles, who hasn’t travelled to Japan.
Within hours of arriving at the hospital, he was on the operating table having his appendix removed.
“When you go into A&E there is obviously a massive queue.
“I was lucky that Geoff and our medical team have a bit of a pull in the Heath and they got me seen a bit earlier.
“I had a scan first to see if there was anything going on, but because it got pretty bad when I was in there, I was operated on straight away.
“I was in there (the hospital) about three to four hours before I was operated on. That’s pretty quick compared to what normal people would have to wait. I was lucky in that sense.”
The rate at which Beard’s condition deteriorated meant that the decision made by team doctor Davies at Heathrow Airport averted what could have been a dangerous situation.
By the time the squad touched down in Tokyo, Beard had already been under the knife and Dr Davies had received a medical report from the surgeons explaining how the procedure went.
Around half the flight from London to Tokyo is spent flying over Russia and, had Beard boarded with the rest of the squad, medics believe an emergency landing would have been required long before they reached their destination.
He might not have realised it at the time, but the gravity of the situation the 23-year-old found himself in is not lost on him now.
“It could have been dangerous,” he admits.
“The doctors were saying they would probably have had to get the plane to make an emergency landing.
“I’m very lucky I didn’t get on that plane.
“Geoff made the right call and the boys were bantering with him that finally he had made one right call. “He was amazing all through the steps and I am lucky enough he made those calls.”
Throughout the ordeal, Beard remained positive and refused to contemplate whether or not his chances of going to the Rugby World Cup were in jeopardy. Team medics had informed him that he could recover from the keyhole surgery he required in a matter of weeks and that was all he needed to hear.
Within eight days of the operation, he was doing some light running and weights, stretching and walking the dog to get his wheels turning again.
After consultation between the doctors in the UK and the team’s medical staff, he eventually flew out to Japan and met up with the squad in Toyota City before they beat Georgia in their Pool opener last month, two weeks later than planned.
Mum Melanie was a tad concerned, but Beard’s father, Paul, was having none of it.
“The family were a bit worried. My mother is a worrier anyway and she was saying ‘Don’t fly, don’t fly,’” he said.
“But my old man was like ‘Come on man, it’s only an appendix out – get out there!’
“It’s good because I had both ends of the stick. They were awesome, fair play. When I got out here that is when they were bringing me more into it. There is someone here to watch me and make sure I am doing stuff right and going through the procedure correctly.”
He may have touched down in Japan. But Beard’s problems were far from over.
Beard began: “When I arrived the boys were going out to training.
“I was hoping that when I arrived they would already have gone and I wouldn’t have seen any of them. There were two buses and everyone was shouting out the window ‘Beardy Boy!’
“They all saw me, I had a rinsing, and some fines too. It wasn’t a positive start.
“I got fined for being late on tour, losing weight, and wearing the wrong kit!
“It’s the World Cup, but I thought I could come casual. Obviously not! Three big fines came my way.”
When asked what the fines were, he laughed: “I can’t tell you that sorry. They were quite hefty so I don’t want to share that. We will keep that in the squad!”
Now he’s in Japan, the task for Beard is to get himself back up to fighting weight, having lost around four kilograms as a result of having to rest post-surgery.
He’s currently consuming around 5,000 calories a day and taking a beasting from strength and conditioning coach Huw Bennett in a bid to get up to speed.
Whilst the squad enjoy a few days off following an intense week with wins over Georgia and Australia, Beard is working to get his fitness and strength levels back up.
“I’m definitely eating more than I usually would. I’m doubling up on everything now at every meal,” Beard explained.
“Normally I’d have four eggs and two pieces of toast for breakfast, but now I’m having porridge and fruit as well and that bit extra with every meal.
“When I first came out here there was a McDonald’s close to our hotel and the staff were like ‘Just get it in you, have whatever you want!’ I was like ‘No, I don’t want to eat too much rubbish as it will go on bad.’
“I’ve been told to eat as much as I want as training is going to be hard to get back fit.
I’m very lucky I didn’t get on that plane. Dr Geoff (Davies) made the right call
“It is very tough to eat that much. When you lose weight you do lose a bit of your appetite.
“At first, my stomach was hurting because of how much I was eating but it is getting easier and the weight is coming back on.”
He added: “The steaks are really good out here and the food has been amazing. I have been smashing the sushi which has been unbelievable.”
Now the challenge is for Beard to convince the coaches that he is back fit and ready for selection.
The Fiji clash is less than a week away and may come too soon for him, but head coach Warren Gatland is not applying any pressure.
The view is that the 16-cap lock will be ready when he’s ready but he’s itching to get involved having watched Wales get off to a flying start from the stands.
“The boys have been class. Two massive wins to start the tournament off and you can’t ask for anything more than that,” he said.
“It would have been nice to be out there with them. I am working my hardest to get back and be fit for selection. Watching in the stands is a bit different.”
Beard’s first World Cup may not have gone exactly to script so far.
But he could still yet have a big part to play in Japan.
“There’s plenty of rugby left to be played,” he said.