Latest news with #AndrewRegan
Daily Mail
24-04-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Paralysed rugby player returns to the field where horror incident changed his life forever - and you won't believe what happened next
Andrew Regan feared he may never be able to walk again. But this week, exactly three years after a horror injury on the footy pitch changed his life forever, the 38-year-old has returned to the site of the accident and has defied the odds. Back in 2022, the young father had just moved into a new home with his wife and toddler, in Orange, a town situated 250km west of Sydney. The day after the move, Regan, who had lived in the area for around 12 months, turned out for the Orange Emus seconds in their Round One match against the Bathurst Bulldogs. It was here that Regan had damaged his C4 and C5 vertebrae in a tackle. The injury left him an incomplete quadriplegic - someone who retains some feeling or movement below the level of where they sustained the injury. Orange Emus second grade coach Al Hattersley said that the freak injury had occurred while Regan had simply been running the footy up into contact. He was subsequently airlifted to Royal North Shore Hospital and underwent an eight-hour surgical procedure on his spine. 'The first priority was just breathing again and being able to survive,' Regan told ABC News, while speaking on the injury. Having replayed the moment he suffered the injury many times over, he questioned the decision to run into the contact in the way he did. But the second-row, who was said to have competed in ultra marathons in the past, has come a long way since that day in 2022, and this week, walked across the footy pitch where the accident took place. His story is a truly inspiring one, with Regan stating he felt like he was 'just a head in a bed' in hospital after the injury but made slow progress, beginning to recover movement in parts of his body. 'I could move my thumb, and that was a huge cause for celebration. 'I thought: "I'm starting to get movement from parts of the body that aren't supposed to be moving. Where's this going to end up".' He then began to feel spasms in his legs and underwent multiple physical treatments, including hydrotherapy. Two years after the accident, the former rugby player began to stand with assistance and then set his eyes on attempting to walk. On Wednesday, Regan defied the odds by walking the length of the Endeavour Oval in Orange. He was joined by supporters who cheered him on, but was forced to stop at points along the way, due to spasms. 'I wanted to do something to essentially reclaim the day,' Mr Regan said. 'It really is the culmination of three years of recovery and hard work, and to have so many people surrounding me, it was a really nice moment.' Those on the footy field then formed a corridor on the tryline which the 38-year-old walked through to complete his walk. After his accident, the Emus Foundation was set up to raise money in support of injured rugby players in need across Australian communities. Regan has since raised over $37,700 for the charity following his walk. 'I'm very lucky, but other people aren't as lucky as me. There's just so many unknown costs,' he added. 'For example, I'm about to run out of funding in my NDIS budget for physio for the year — I've put everything into this walk today.'
ABC News
24-04-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Andrew Regan walks 100 metres after rugby tackle leaves him a quadriplegic
When Andrew Regan was tackled in a rugby union game three years ago, he knew something had gone catastrophically wrong. The impact broke his neck and he lost all sensation. "I was instantly paralysed," he said. "It's one of those things you've replayed in your mind a million times and everything's happening so slowly but also so quickly. "You weigh up your decisions — should I have gone left, should I have gone right?" An ambulance arrived at the Emus Rugby Club's Endeavour Oval in Orange NSW, and drove him to the hospital. The second rower was flown to Sydney, where he was declared an incomplete quadriplegic. Andrew Regan says he wanted to reclaim the day his injury happened. ( ABC Central West: Lani Oataway ) Three years to the day, the 38-year-old returned to the site of his injury to walk 100 metres, and raise money for others injured playing the game. "I wanted to do something to essentially reclaim the day," Mr Regan said. Road to recovery Mr Regan thought he would never walk again after the tackle. "I was just a head in a bed," he said. Andrew Regan takes part in physical therapy. ( Supplied: Andrew Regan ) "The first priority was just breathing again and being able to survive." He slowly started to experience feeling in his upper body during the first few months in hospital. "There was a point where my hands stopped feeling like blocks of wood," Mr Regan said. "I could move my thumb, and that was a huge cause for celebration. "I thought, 'I'm starting to get movement from parts of the body that aren't supposed to be moving. Where's this going to end up'." About seven months after his accident, he started feeling spasms in his legs. The twitches were encouraged by electrodes sparking his muscles during treatment, while he tried to push pedals on an exercise bike. He also went through significant physical treatment, including hydrotherapy, to create a connection between his mind and his limbs. Andrew Regan with his family celebrate his graduation from hospital care to rehabilitation. ( Supplied: Andrew Regan ) Two years after the accident, he was able to stand up with support. "I'd always faint and black out and have to sit down, but after a while that just sort of went away and didn't cause issues anymore," Mr Regan said. "I was getting so good at standing up that your thoughts naturally go, 'If I can stand, can I walk'. Andrew Regan has attended specialist rehabilitation centres and exercised daily. ( Supplied: Andrew Regan ) "We've got to the point now where it's actually realistic to say let's try and walk 100 metres." Flight of the Emu After exercising every day and attending physiotherapy twice a week, Mr Reagan set out to conquer Endeavour Oval in Orange. He was flanked by supporters running on either side of him, yelling words of encouragement. Mr Regan took breaks along the way to wait out the spasms. "Everything was seizing up — we're talking back, arms, legs, hips — it was really hard going," he said. Andrew Regan spent an hour walking 100 metres across Endeavour Oval. ( ABC Central West: Lani Oataway ) "Spasms are incredibly destabilising … it was really hard towards the end." His supporters formed a corridor and waved sparklers below the floodlights as he crossed the try line. "It was incredibly hard to stay focused and not get emotional," he said. " It really is the culmination of three years of recovery and hard work, and to have so many people surrounding me, it was a really nice moment. " The event raised $28,000 for the Emus Foundation, which was launched after Mr Regan's accident. The organisation was created to financially support regional players who were injured on the rugby field. "I'm very lucky, but other people aren't as lucky as me," Mr Regan said. "There's just so many unknown costs. "For example, I'm about to run out of funding in my NDIS budget for physio for the year — I've put everything into this walk today." Support team members lift Mr Regan's foot with a purpose-built handle. ( ABC Central West: Lani Oataway ) Mr Regan's physiotherapist, Robert Thorburn, said he was elated to watch his client achieve his goal. "To be honest when he said it, both myself and Simon [exercise physiologist] were a bit doubtful," he said. "And to his credit, he's just amazing." Mr Thorburn said the next step in his client's journey would be trying to walk unassisted. "When we're working with him it's always an unknown but it's always so amazing when he achieves what he has," he said. " Not all patients are as determined as Reegs is. " EDITOR'S NOTE: Andrew Regan is the husband of an ABC employee.
