I ‘GOT LUCKY’ THE DAY I BROKE MY NECK
Rugby player tells of his road to recovery after pool accident left him in a hospital bed:
AREGIONAL rugby player who broke his neck in a horrific swimming pool accident has managed to move the fingers in his right hand. Newport Dragons star Ed Jackson was left with barely any movement in his body below the neck after hitting his head on the bottom of a friend’s swimming pool at a party last month.
He has now decided to document his road to recovery on Facebook, posting a series of inspirational updates as he tries to come to terms with what has happened.
And the latest video message, posted on Friday night, shows Jackson bravely battling to twitch his fingers seven days after suffering the catastrophic injury as he lies in his hospital bed in Southmead, Bristol.
He said: “It’s amazing how your goals in life change in an instant. How seeing your little finger twitch can reduce you to tears.
“It seems small, however the significance is huge, this was the first sign of movement from an area fed from nerves below the level of the injury.
“I have been diagnosed with an incomplete as opposed to a complete spinal cord injury.
“This means that the cord is damaged but not severed completely. Damage can range from quadriplegia to a complete recovery, however the extent will only be apparent over time.
“This uncertainty is my main source of anxiety and I can’t emphasise enough how a tiny flicker in the right direction can swing your mood.
“Keeping the faith that things WILL get better and could be worse is all you have to hold on to in these early days.”
Jackson was hauled from the pool by his father, a retired doctor, and a friend early last month, after hitting his head on the bottom and instantly losing all movement and power from his arms and legs.
He later woke up in intensive care after surgery to remove a shattered disc and relocate his vertebrae, which is now fixed in place with a metal plate.
Jackson has received many mes- sages of support from the rugby and wider community since the accident, with many praising his bravery in sharing his experience.
He added: “The bottom line is the day I dived into the pool, I got lucky. I got lucky that people were there to pull me above the water.
“I got lucky that my dad is a doctor and knew to keep my spine straight. I got lucky that I was operated on within seven hours of the injury.
“I got lucky that I was only 10 miles from one of the leading neurological centres in the country. I was lucky to be awake and talking, and now I’m lucky my finger is moving.
“I know lucky is a weird way to look at it but for me it helps being able to look back at that day in a different light.
“As Churchill put it: ‘One must never forget when misfortunes come that it is quite possible they are saving one from something worse’.”
Jackson admits dealing with the mental anguish of such an injury is his number one battle right now, describing in some detail the awful days in the immediate aftermath of the accident on April 8.
“I promise it isn’t all doom and gloom moving forward but like anything you have to take the rough with the smooth and early on times were pretty rough,” he said.
“Waking up with central lines in my neck and wrist, a drip in my hand, drain in my throat and a tube through my nose.
“This, combined with the collar caused issues swallowing, resulting in some of the most harrowing early moments.
“The problems came from my inability to cough, due to loss of power in my chest and abdomen, this meant every time fluid was lodged in my throat I would end up choking. That drowning sensation would immediately take me back to the accident and left me constantly on edge.
“I can only describe my mental state during these early days as numb. I don’t know if it was the drugs, the shock, or being in denial but I don’t recall feeling a huge amount of specific emotion apart from fear.
“The fear of what I may have done to my career, my relationship, my family, my future, my life.
“The fear of the unknown has been a tough one for me to deal with and is something I will be touching on again.”
Jackson has made 36 appearances for the Dragons after joining in 2015 and signed a two-year contract extension last December.
But he hadn’t played since their European Challenge Cup exit at French club Brive in January because of a shoulder injury.