That amount of movement 3 weeks in doesn’t fill me with confidence he’ll ever be able to write with that hand (also basing this off how he is holding his arm while walking) which would also mean a lot of hand held tools are off the table.
His right leg swing & foot placement is also quite rigid and inconsistent, and while he’ll improve for a few months yet wouldn’t be surprised if he needs a walking stick + AFO long term.
Which sounds a bit doom and gloom but is a lot better than some of the early fears people had (myself included).
Good to see that even with all that extra hardware he is now lugging around and the grimness of his situation he is still able to retain his sense of humour.
I’m just hoping that somewhere in the future there is the hope of full recovery. I don’t expect he’ll want to play football again, but it would be great if at some stage he could have a kick with his kids and keep himself fit and otherwise lead a pretty normal life.
Even with the absolute best case scenario I can’t see him ever playing any sort of contact sport - risk just far too high. Aneurysms under some circumstances can be treated and pose minimal future risk, but playing footy with a repaired but inherently significantly weakened c-spine is a disaster waiting to happen.
Big love to the man, the good spirit he’s approaching his rehab with will serve him very well.
Injuries like this would require an expensive refit of a home to enable him to live in it. Additionally, limited other locations which he could physically manage to visit or work in. Just getting in vehicles for transportation can limit his options.
And he would be living with chronic pain.
He was drafted in 2002 so much be pretty much 40 by now. Not all that difficult a decision to retire. It’s not Nathan Murphy or O’Driscoll from the Dogs levels of premature retirements.
I had spinal fusion surgery. Adjustments required a new car (bending down into a sedan with car seats was a big no). The way I moved changed. I had to be deliberate in how I get up, twist, bend. It’s now second nature, but I remember it wasn’t just an operation, it was a new lifestyle.
