>> Matt Hampson builds his Ark
Brendan Gallagher talks to Matt Hampson ahead of the opening of his new Get Busy Living Centre
FIRST he endured a nightmare but then he had a dream. And then that dream came true. There have been few more inspiring stories – sports or otherwise – than Matt Hampson’s. Not only has he learned to cope with a catastrophic tetraplegia injury but the Leicester Tiger has roared defiance and successfully raised the funds to build a state of the art, purpose built, rehabilitation centre and hub for those sportsmen who have undergone a similar lifechanging experience.
The centre, which will open in the New Year, sits ark-like astride the highest ridge in Leicestershire near Borough on the Hill. A place of refuge designed to gather those in need but also an oasis of goodwill, support and hope. A place of renewal. Situated in deepest rural Leicestershire, the only approach is by a winding purposebuilt road which only heightens the impression that those making the journey are en route to a special place. Which you are.
The building is high tech and high spec but importantly homely and user friendly because its purpose is to care for both body and soul. There are especially adapted gyms, treatment rooms and physiotherapy equipment, but also relaxing rest rooms and a cafe area where everybody can meet and chew the cud and that includes parents, carers and helpers as well as those who have suffered serious injury. All concerned need support and inspiration.
The Get Busy Living Centre – Matt’s Ark – is going to be their place, their hang-out, where they can train like elite athletes to maximise what physical ability they still retain before venturing forth again in to the world in a much better place physically and mentally. And if there are setbacks along the way they can return to plug back into the energy of the place and to compare notes with many others facing the same challenges.
“The centre was initially a dream of mine, a place for our beneficiaries to come along to and receive physical rehabilitation,” says Matt. “Since then, our plans for this new facility evolved and become a reality, with the centre giving us the opportunity to deliver not only physical support, but, more crucially, mental support too.
“The centre will also be a place for specialist companies to exhibit stateof-the-art equipment, offering the possibility for our beneficiaries to sample this life-changing technology without having to endure the astronomical costs of specialist equipment.”
It’s been a massive team effort of course, that’s the only way you can move mountains. The build cost of the centre is probably just over £2 million, but with generous donations from many suppliers and contractors the actual cost had been restricted to £800,000.
Across the board individuals and companies have stepped up to the plate. From an initial concept and dinner held by GRS Roadstone back in October 2014, the project really started to take off when Willmott Dixon, the main contractor, got on board in the summer of 2016 ahead of the site being cleared and prepared for construction in the autumn.
Armies of volunteer labour have been on call virtually around the clock during its construction which is almost done and dusted. Every surface is now getting a last lick of paint, toilets have been cleaned and polished for the umpteenth time and now, finally, rows of trees have been planted along the driveway.
A contingent from Leicester Tigers – players, supporters, staff – have invariably been on hand when any muscle or grunt was required and many others from other clubs and the rugby community generally have been popping in whenever they could or helping with various fundraisers around the country.
The location has an interesting history. The centre was once the site of a private hanger which used to house the plane Neville Chamberlain flew to Munich in 1938 and volunteers had to pull its decaying shell down before work could begin. Meanwhile just around the corner is a hunting lodge where Edward VII and Wallis Simpson allegedly conducted clandestine trysts during their affair which caused the latter to abdicate as King.
“It’s been extraordinary to see it all come together, “says Tommy Cawston, once a Tigers community physiotherapist who has taken on the job of CEO for the Foundation. “Although it always sounded a great idea there is a big difference between having a pipe dream if you like and actually making it happen, and that is down to Matt and his drive and determination. He’s a force of nature.”
It was March 15, 2005 that everything changed forever in one random instant and Matt was ‘condemned’ to a life in a wheelchair and breathing with a ventilator.
During an England U21 squad session at Franklin’s Gardens, there had been a series of ten scrums on the scrummaging machine and then another ten live scrums between two packs. The eleventh live scum immediately went to ground as Hampson appeared to slip. As Hampson lay there motionless, he quickly started to turn blue as he struggled to breathe. There were just seconds left to act if his life was to be saved but luckily – the only bit of good fortune on a horrid day – Tony Spreadbury was there that morning to ref the scrums at England’s request. Spreadbury was not only one of England’s top refs at the time, he was also a highly trained frontline professional paramedic.
“I was well used to being first at the scene at some pretty critical medical situations and suddenly I was no longer on a rugby pitch, I was at work,” recalls Spreadbury. “It was obviously very serious, critical, and I went straight onto autopilot. Doc Weighman, the doctor present, cradled his head to maintain cervical alignment and I took the decision for us to roll Matt over to help him breathe if possible.
“Then we couldn’t find a pulse so I commenced cardiac massage. The ambulance was on the scene pretty quickly and we were then able to connect Matt to a cardiac defib/monitor.
“There was no time for any emotions when we were dealing with the situation and it was only a few hours later it hit home properly, especially when I saw the look of shock on many of the young lads faces back at the team hotel. There were a lot of tears as well.”
To most mortals the lot of a c4/c5 tetraplegic would seem like a life sentence but Hampson was having none of it and he set out on his incredible journey which will reach a notable staging post next month when the centre is due to be opened.
Hampson’s mantra throughout has been “Get busy living”, an adaptation of his favourite line from his favourite film The Shawshank Redemption. Faced with a double life sentence in prison, lead character Andy muses, “I
guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying”.
So Hampson got busy living and the way he expresses that is by helping others. Cawston’s memory is that the idea of a centre first reared its head one busy morning when he had double booked Matt for appointments and meetings and there was a bit of logjam of those seeking help and advice and the parents and helpers. And, as happens on these occasions, everybody started talking and comparing notes and sharing experiences.
“There was a really good energy and chemistry with everybody there sharing the same challenges and problems and enjoying the chance to talk together and compare notes,” Cawston adds.
“That set Matt thinking and sowed the seeds. Wouldn’t it be great to build somewhere we could regularly get everybody together? The Foundation had already enjoyed quite a bit of success raising money and we had been able to help various individuals but a centre could be more permanent and long term. It’s about creating an environment that works for people.
“There will be some, with a sporting background, like Matt’s, who will automatically respond to the discipline of regular rehabilitation work in a gym but there are others who on their own might be nervous or intimidated by the thought. Or the facilities available to them might just be poor and not suitable for their special needs. When you are all under the one roof, the energy takes off, there is a sharing of expertise and knowledge everybody can support each other.
“As you would expect from Matt he carried it through tenaciously. He has a great ability to inspire and draw people in who want to help and its been his vision that has driven this all along.”
On a day to day basis Hampson, who lives only five miles away, will be the on-site gaffer – or mine host – the embodiment of the ‘get busy living’ philosophy, the team leader and go-to man that he might have become at Tigers and possibly even England had his life not taken another trajectory. His contemporaries in that England U21 pack included James Haskell, Tom Rees and Davey Wilson and there is every chance he might have joined them as a full England cap and a stalwart of the English club game.
The connection with Tigers remains rock solid; there are plans afoot for some of the Tigers long term injured might occasionally base themselves at the centre for a spell.
When there is no prospect of playing for two or three months or longer it can get a tad depressing spending all your time working alongside those who are fit and able and raring to go. A change of scenery does no harm while a spell at the centre could also provide the reality check of seeing that in the bigger picture an ACL or a dislocated shoulder are really not quite as serious as you might think.
Meanwhile there should also be huge value for the tetraplegics and quadraplegics who are trying to push themselves hard in working alongside elite athletes who will know how to encourage and motivate. You can already imagine the good natured banter. It sounds like a win-win scenario to me.
Of course the fund raising must go on. It has required a massive eyeballs out effort from all concerned to build and equip the centre but it can’t run on fresh air and goodwill alone. There will be considerable on-going running costs and, after a brief pause to get his breath back, Matt and his team will plunge into that challenge as well.