One more blow to the head could kill me
THE latest professional rugby player to retire prematurely from the sport has been told he could be risking his life if he ever plays again after a career blighted by concussion.
Former England fullback David Jackson ended his 13-year career on Thursday following a head injury sustained in pre-season which saw him suffer a seizure and left him with bleeding on the brain.
The 31-year-old Nottingham star — who has no medical insurance to cover his lost earnings — still experiences dizziness, blurred vision and headaches almost four months after the accident and has also had bouts of depression.
‘I can’t remember anything about it, but apparently I collided with another lad whose shoulder and elbow caught my head and knocked me out,’ Jackson told the Irish Mail on Sunday.
‘I had a seizure upon impact. I don’t think that lasted too long, but I can’t remember it. My first memory is of being in hospital, asking the same questions over and over again. It was probably the fourth time I’d been taken for a CT scan and kept overnight.
‘The doctor told me that if I tried to do anything before I’d fully recovered, then I’d be massively at risk. It sounds a bit drastic, but she said the worst-case scenario is Second Impact Syndrome. It’s a very small chance, but she did say that if I returned too early my next impact could see me drop dead.’
The MOS previously reported on the death of 14-year-old Ben Robinson while playing rugby for Carrickfergus grammar school in 2011. After being treated three times for blows to the head and sent back to the field each time, he collapsed and later died in hospital.