Nicolle refused just to lie down

GARETH NICOLLE always knew that he would walk again after breaking his neck playing for Guernsey last month. The freak rugby accident which left him with no movement down his right side happened during a London Three South-West match at Tottonians' ground just outside Southampton on 17 December. Doctors feared that he would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

But the 26-year-old Guernseyman had other ideas and 13 days later, on 30 December, he walked out of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital as part of a remarkable recovery.

Nicolle's positive thinking contributed to his turnaround, he said from his partner Natalie's parents' house in the UK prior to returning to Guernsey later this week.

'I'm better now than I was a couple of weeks ago,' said Nicolle.

'The strange thing is, I always knew that I would walk again. I had a really different point of view from everyone else.

'I didn't really consider it. It never crossed my mind that I would have a form of a disability because every day something new was happening, like I could move my leg a little.

'No one ever sat me down and said I wasn't going to walk again but they did say the best I could hope for after the operation was what I was left with. This was different from what they told Natalie and my dad.

'They were probably given a worst-case scenario.'

The affable Nicolle can remember the entire incident as he was drafted in to play prop for the first team's league match.

'I remember it fully as I didn't lose consciousness,' he said.

'We were going into a scrum and basically my head went straight into the shoulder of the opposite prop. There was a big crunch as my neck snapped down into my chest.

'I knew it was serious straight-away as I lost all control of my body.'

At that time he had no movement in his right leg and foot and in his right hand.

The only part of his body he could move on his right side was his shoulder, slightly.

He was rushed straight to Southampton General where he was scanned and X-rayed as it became clear that he had broken his neck in two places.

Not having the expertise at hand to be able to operate on the Guernseyman, the hospital transferred him to a specialist unit in north London on the Saturday night.

'The staff at Southampton rang round for available surgeons and there was capacity for me at the orthopaedic hospital,' he said.

'I left the General at 10pm and got to London at 4am as the ambulance crew were told to drive at no more than 15 miles an hour.

'The police organised a rolling roadblock on all exits.

'Apparently it took 20 to 25 minutes for traffic to clear after my convoy. It's amazing what they did and it allowed me to be in the position I'm in now.

'The treatment and support from everyone I received were fantastic.'

After a short sleep, Nicolle was taken into the operating theatre where surgeon Stuart Malloy, who is involved with the English RFU specialising in spinal injuries, spent seven hours operating.

By last Friday his condition had improved so much that he was able to leave the confines of the hospital to spend New Year's Eve with his girlfriend and her family. He now spends an hour every morning doing special exercises to combat his present condition.

The specialists advised him that it might take between two and four years before he is back to where he was.

'It's all about learning from scratch like a toddler,' he said.

'When I get back to Guernsey it will be all hands to the pumps to get back to a normal life.

'I'm lacking strength and balance but some might say I never had that in the first place.'

Nicolle is resigned to the fact that he will never be able to play his number-one sport again but he is keen to remain involved with the Guernsey Rugby Club and will be present when it plays London Irish Amateur at home on Saturday.

He also wants to become involved with fund-raising for spinal injury charities.

'The club gave us a donation to help lessen the cost: that was unexpected and gratefully received,' he said.

'They told me that I won't be playing ever again so would I like to try to get involved in coaching. I'll have to talk to the club to see what things I can do.

'I fly into Guernsey on Saturday morning and I'll turn up at the club to support the boys and share a couple of soft drinks with them afterwards.'