OWEN WILLIAMS - Update

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/29075423

Cardiff Blues centre Owen Williams is sitting up and spending time out of hospital as he continues his recovery from a serious spinal injury.
Williams suffered a "significant injury" to his cervical vertebrae and spinal cord while playing in a tournament in Singapore in June.
The 22-year-old is being treated in Cardiff's Rookwood Hospital, and Blues say he is making "progress".
Williams is also using the hospital's gym for "upper limb rehabilitation".
The four-cap Wales international was injured in the first half of the Blues' 26-17 defeat by Asia Pacific Dragons in the third-place play-off of the World Club 10s.
He was initially treated in Singapore before being transferred by air ambulance back to Wales and then onto the Welsh Spinal Injuries and Neurological Rehabilitation Unit in early July.
The Blues statement said: "Owen is now tolerating periods of time sitting up in a wheelchair, allowing him the chance to spend short periods of time outside the hospital."
After the former Aberdare RFC player was injured, a social media campaign was launched using the hashtag StayStrongForOws, which received support from around the world.
The Blues said more than 14,000 #StayStrongForOws wristbands have been sold to raise money for Williams.
"It remains very early in his recovery, but support for the #StayStrongForOws campaign worldwide has been a huge inspiration for Owen, his family and friends," the statement said.

Thanks for posting the news update.

Thanks Pete, it is hard to read about injuries like this, I hope everything goes well for him.

What an addition he would have been to his team this year.

I'd go as far as to say he and Allen wouldve been a wonder partnership next season, possibly taking Roberts spot for the RWC, cutting their teeth on the league this year.

Such a scary injury for all of us to hear about, we've all had those omg moments on the pitch where your mind races off to the worst place, to have that realised must be horrific!

Good luck to him and his family!!

Glad to read positive news about Owen. Sure it'll give the Blues a good lift too.

Hurrah! Some good news. Ows staying strong.

Glad to hear he's progressing and hope it continues. Does anyone know if he has any movement in his legs yet? Hope so.

I think I read he was doing some mild leg exercises, so would assume so. I don't think he'll be playing rugby again though.

The Saint wrote:I think I read he was doing some mild leg exercises, so would assume so. I don't think he'll be playing rugby again though.

I'm sure he'll be peed that he can't play rugby but i bet he'll be happy if and when he can fully walk again

Great to see OW making progress.

Good little peace on ScrumV tonight, he seems to be showing some good early signs

nathan wrote:

The Saint wrote:I think I read he was doing some mild leg exercises, so would assume so. I don't think he'll be playing rugby again though.

I'm sure he'll be peed that he can't play rugby but i bet he'll be happy if and when he can fully walk again

I am appalled by your lack of sensitivity.

Norfolklass wrote:

nathan wrote:

The Saint wrote:I think I read he was doing some mild leg exercises, so would assume so. I don't think he'll be playing rugby again though.

I'm sure he'll be peed that he can't play rugby but i bet he'll be happy if and when he can fully walk again

I am appalled by your lack of sensitivity.

Which comment? I can't see anything wrong with either of these?

I think he/she is appalled by the 'never play rugby again' comment. If that's correct I can assure him/her that Owen Williams is smart enough to know he won't be playing rugby again. Rugby isn't that important.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/29100367

Cardiff Blues and Wales centre Owen Williams "is looking on the positive side" as he receives treatment for the neck injury he has suffered, says his father Huw.

Huw and Owen's brother Gavin were speaking to Scrum V presenter Ross Harries about his recuperation following the "significant injury" to his cervical vertebrae and spinal cord he suffered while playing for Cardiff Blues in a tournament in Singapore last June.

Thousands have used the hashtag #staystrongforows on Twitter, including Wales football star Aaron Ramsey and his Arsenal team-mates.

Thanks for the update Pete.

Wishing the man all the best.

profitius wrote:I think he/she is appalled by the 'never play rugby again' comment. If that's correct I can assure him/her that Owen Williams is smart enough to know he won't be playing rugby again. Rugby isn't that important.

Thanks for your intelligent comments He/She Profitius. I really admire you as a man. I guess you get that a lot. Thanks for thinking for me.

profitius wrote:I think he/she is appalled by the 'never play rugby again' comment. If that's correct I can assure him/her that Owen Williams is smart enough to know he won't be playing rugby again. Rugby isn't that important.

Thanks for your intelligent comments He/She Profitius. I really admire you as a man. I guess you get that a lot. Thanks for thinking for me.

profitius wrote:I think he/she is appalled by the 'never play rugby again' comment. If that's correct I can assure him/her that Owen Williams is smart enough to know he won't be playing rugby again. Rugby isn't that important.

Thanks for your intelligent comments He/She Profitius. I really admire you as a man. I guess you get that a lot. Thanks for thinking for me.

Norfolklass wrote:

profitius wrote:I think he/she is appalled by the 'never play rugby again' comment. If that's correct I can assure him/her that Owen Williams is smart enough to know he won't be playing rugby again. Rugby isn't that important.

Thanks for your intelligent comments He/She Profitius. I really admire you as a man. I guess you get that a lot. Thanks for thinking for me.

You're welcome

Lets's not fight over this very sensitive subject guy's, profitus, if you are like me then you should know better, let the women of this world have the last word.

Right, I'm off now to rub my wife's feet for her.................

Latest News - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/30541176


On 20 June this year, Owen Williams was ensconced in a luxury hotel in Singapore watching the sun set on the harbour.

He was a young man on the rise. His form for Cardiff Blues had earned him a first Wales cap, and he was looking forward to an off-season romp in the World Club Tens tournament; playing the game he loved in exotic surroundings.

Two days later, he was in a hospital bed, unable to move . A fairly innocuous looking tackle had left him temporarily paralysed. It was a terrifying ordeal, and one he's just beginning to emerge from.

Since then, Owen has been through six months of intensive rehabilitation at Cardiff's Rookwood Hospital, regaining some movement in both arms. As yet, no feeling has returned to his legs and torso. It's been, he says, "physically exhausting", but it's the mental demons he's worked hardest to conquer. He's refusing to dwell on what might have been, refusing to feel sorry for himself, and refusing to look back.

"I don't just want to lie there and waste away" he told me. "You have to accept it and get on with it, and try and make something of your life… you could just lie there and stay in bed, but that's not the way I want to go."

He'd be forgiven for being consumed with bitterness, for questioning why the hand of fate came to lay so cruelly on his shoulder. But he says that path leads only to ruin.

"I try not to think about what's gone on. It's just about the future. I don't want to go thinking about being angry with anyone. You've just got to crack on with it.," he said.

"The past is the past now. I just want to look to a positive future. I've been tackled like that a hundred times before and … nothing. It was just a stroke of bad luck really; a bit unlucky on the day, and that's what's happened now."

Owen spends every day in the gym and in the hydro pool, working on his upper body strength and he says things are going well. There are good days and bad days, but he's seeing little improvements all the time.

"Some days are frustrating. Things don't move the way you want them to, but its small steps at a time, and things are improving.

"As before with rugby injuries, you have an injury and you can see big gains week by week. With this, it's more month by month. I don't want to know too much about the science behind it. I didn't really ask many questions about the extent of my injury… I just get on with it. What happens, happens."

If he continues to progress, he'll be ready to leave hospital in February. He's already spent a number of weekends at home, and is planning to spend four days with his family at Christmas.

"I'm looking forward to eating a bit of tidy food, and having a bit of peace and quiet - no rattling from the tea trolley coming round on the ward every two hours! Just looking forward to a bit of chilling out and getting my head back on for what I've got to take on after Christmas, with my rehab and my next set of goals."

Speak to any of his Blues colleagues, and they'll all tell you how hard Owen worked, how dedicated he was, and how many hours he'd put in at the gym. Sam Warburton - no stranger to the gym himself - has described him as an "absolute specimen".

To suffer an accident like this is catastrophic whoever the victim, but given that Owen defined himself by his physicality, by his athleticism, is it somehow harder to deal with?

Again, he remains stoic and resolute - turning the question into a positive: "If anything, it's to my benefit because obviously, I had that bit of drive about me before so it does help me push on in the gym, and not just take what's happened and waste away. It does really give me that boost I need, and maybe a bit of the mental side … just to get on with the rehab."

Perhaps most remarkably, he harbours no resentment to the sport that, before this, had given him everything. He's watched every Blues game this season on the TV, was a special guest at the Millennium Stadium when Wales played the All Blacks in November, and is planning to return to the Arms Park for the first time, for the Boxing Day derby against the Dragons.

Despite what's happened, his passion for rugby endures, and his resolve has strengthened: "It does make you a stronger person. It's made me stronger in the way things have got to be done. And you've just got to get on with it sometimes. "

Watch the full interview with Owen Williams on Scrum V, Sunday, 21 December, 17:55 GMT on BBC Two Wales

I've done a couple overnighters on the hospital bed, it was horrific. I can hardly imagine what it's like to spend a few months in there!

I do, spent 7 months in one in 2010/11

Not a good pace to be.

Biltong wrote:I do, spent 7 months in one in 2010/11

Not a good pace to be.

Damn son, must have been some nasty biltong you ate.

Anyway, glad Ows is recovering.

Norfolklass wrote:

nathan wrote:

The Saint wrote:I think I read he was doing some mild leg exercises, so would assume so. I don't think he'll be playing rugby again though.

I'm sure he'll be peed that he can't play rugby but i bet he'll be happy if and when he can fully walk again

I am appalled by your lack of sensitivity.

really not sure what part of my comment shows a lack of sensitivity? All i'm saying is that there are things more important in life than the game of rugby

Glad to see he's improving, can't imagine being in his place.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/32424021

Owen Williams is ready to be discharged from hospital, 10 months after suffering a spinal injury playing for Cardiff Blues in a 10-a-side event.
The 23-year-old Wales centre will go home next week and says he is preparing for the "next chapter" of his recovery.
Williams has thanked staff at Cardiff's Rookwood Hospital, where he has been treated since July 2014.
And he tweeted:  "It's almost time for my discharge from Rookwood. Massive thanks to everyone for the support."
He added: "I feel I still have a lot to work on, my aim is to be as independent as I can.


"It's been an emotional time for me, family and friends. I couldn't have done it without you all.
"Now it's on to the next chapter of settling in at home. It's going to be different now but I've accepted that and I'm ready for it.
"Ten months is a long old time in hospital. The nurses, physios and occupation therapists here at Rookwood have been brilliant throughout and have helped me get where I need to be.
"I cannot thank my two clubs Aberdare RFC and Cardiff Blues enough for their efforts and continued support."

Williams, who has made four appearances for Wales, was initially treated in Singapore in June, before being transferred by air ambulance back to Wales and then on to the Welsh Spinal Injuries and Neurological Rehabilitation Unit.
His injury sparked a social media campaign,  which received support from around the world.
Speaking on BBC Wales' Scrum V programme in December 2014, Williams said he had regained some movement in his arms, but had no feeling in his torso or legs.
In his latest tweet, Williams said his injury had helped him appreciate "the little things in life".
"I now think what a good life I did live and maybe took things for granted," he said.
"Getting my cap for Wales has definitely helped me along. If this had happened to me and I hadn't quite achieved that then it would have been a lot harder to take.
"But looking at my jersey on the wall in my house does put a smile on my face."

STAY STRONG FOR OWS