Injured Player Support

The following timeline demonstrates how the Injured Players Foundation acts at each stage of a player’s injury: point of incident, rehabilitation and continuing life under new circumstances. The foundation provides support and information to those who sustain a catastrophic injury and continue these services until it is no longer required.

Point of incident

The Injured Players Foundation (IPF) acts immediately. Once informed (see contact details) we act quickly and effectively as was the case with David as he was playing for his local club.

David was playing rugby one Saturday afternoon and his life changed forever. He went to collect the ball from the ground as he had done many times before but accidentally collided head first with another player. He was rushed to hospital. At this point the Injured Players Foundation was informed. Later that evening David’s wife Sarah was joined at the hospital by a member of the IPF team.

Given that this was a potential catastrophic injury, Sarah was offered immediate assistance, her questions were answered and the support the Foundation could offer was outlined. Sarah explained that; “over the following months the IPF were amazing, and I really don’t believe that we would have got through it without them”.

Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation is fundamental in adapting to a new way of a new life after a serious injury. The Foundation offers support through this period. An example of how the IPF has assisted through rehabilitation is found in the case of John.

John was seriously injured in September 2010. At the time he and his partner had a seven week old baby and his paralysis from the neck down initially had a serious affect on family life. In order to ease the strain, the IPF stepped in.

As John had been moved to Stoke Mandeville two weeks after his injury, contact with his family became difficult. The IPF provided John with a laptop and mobile phone to keep communication flowing with family and friends. The Foundation also provided financial support, ensuring that household bills and travel costs for hospital visits were paid. In addition, John was given an England shirt signed by Martin Johnson and his whole team to stress that the entire rugby family were behind John and his recovery.

As John said “The IPF took a huge burden off our shoulders”. By the end of January John was back at work and at this stage the IPF was able to step back, knowing the family could cope.

Continuing life

We help throughout the lives of those affected by serious injury and our support has no time constraints as Claire's story shows:

Claire says she “lived and breathed rugby”, having played from the age of 13, and had been an avid supporter all her life. Then, at the age of 34 she took to the pitch as scrum half for Tunbridge Juddians but was rushed to hospital paralysed in one leg and with other complications including the loss of all peripheral vision. That was in February 2008 and for such an active sportswoman the injury was truly life changing and, says Claire, “I began to face the reality that my life was changed, probably forever.”

“Watching or being with my old rugby team was too painful emotionally. I was managing the GB Deaf Women’s Football team, getting them ready for the 2009 Deaflympics in Taipei, but it wasn’t the same as playing as part of the team, or the feeling you get when scoring a try. “That’s when I met Dave Phillips from the Injured Players Foundation. I had no idea what to expect but he seemed to understand how I was feeling; that being grateful for what I had didn’t stop me missing the things I couldn’t do. Over the next six months he kept in regular touch with me, gently pushing me to use the support available to start to live my life more fully again, to get out, join the gym, and to use the support to help my family get to grips with a new reality.

“A year after my accident, I met up with the Disability Sports Officer in my region. He was great – a wheelchair user himself. I left with a list of options to try, and a sense of excitement. I chose Sitting Volleyball, one of the few non wheelchair based team sports. It’s fast and dynamic and I absolutely loved it. It’s easy to learn and my experience of reading a rugby game helped in anticipating the volleyball play.

“I have only been playing for six months but I am now in the GB team and heading for the world championships in July and for the Paralympic arena in 2012. I still can’t quite believe it: I can’t thank my family, friends, medical team and the IPF enough for the consistent and constant support and encouragement they have given me. Maybe seeing me in 2012 or the world championships will be reward for them.”