@friendsofJamieW @Jamwall7 Best wishes to Jamie in his fight to walk again. Never give up, Never Let Up
— Jack Wilshere (@JackWilshere) March 26, 2015
Courage and positivity
As a dedicated Manchester United fan Jamie Wall was as surprised as anyone when a player from a rival team decided to tweet his support to the young Corkman. The 23-year old was struck down by an injury to his spine last June. The Kilbrittain clubman, who has been confined to a wheelchair since 2014, admits that he got a massive surprise when the England international got in touch.
‘I was shocked and blown away by it. It came into my phone and it said ‘Jack Wilshere has mentioned you in a tweet’ and I was like ‘what the heck is going on here?’ I didn’t know what to think and nobody told me they were behind it or anything so I’m hoping he stumbled upon the website took an interest in what’s going on.
‘To come from a guy that has had injuries, too, and is also a 22-year-old; it’s almost a solidarity thing and it was nice.’
‘I don’t think I’ll be supporting Arsenal, but with Manchester United out of the cup it should be easy to support them in that at least.’
Wall was rated among the most talented of Cork’s underage dual stars in the county until a freak injury left him in a wheelchair. It all came about suddenly, as a minor back ache, in the days after playing for the Cork intermediate hurlers against Tipperary, developed into an infection.
It led to an epidural abscess on his spine. He was rushed to hospital for an immediate operation. When he awoke, he had lost the use of his legs. Wall does not feel there is any point in dwelling on the circumstances surrounding the life changing injury,
‘I’d be lying if I said I don’t think about it. That whole week is something I’ll never forget. Looking back, and thinking I had a bit of a pain in my back, you [can] start thinking like that but you’ll go crazy. How many people around the country have mild back pain? You never think that where’s it’s going to end up. I had no symptoms until the Saturday but it’s just trying to pull away from that and trying to be all about what’s going to come rather than what’s happened.’
‘Worrying is like a rocking chair – it gives you something to do but ultimately it gets you nowhere.’
The Corkman spent several weeks in Beaumont Hospital before being transferred to the National Rehabilitation Hospital, in Dun Laoghaire, at the beginning of September.
Wall spent almost a full six months there before deciding that his recovery would be accelerated if he returned home.
‘Since November, I was in the middle of my time in Dun Laoghaire and had made a small few progressions. We got the the middle of February and reached the decision that we had come as far as we could at that time. We decided to get out of the hospital for a while and get a bit of living done.
‘After eight or nine months of living in a hospital, you’d miss certain home comforts that you’d take for granted, such as not being woken at seven in the morning for breakfast and stuff.’
‘In terms of carrying on my treatment since I’ve left, I’ve spent a week in Cambridge and have invested in equipment for a gym at home. Allied to working with my physio in Kinsale, I’m able to work away myself at home on maintaining a level of fitness.
‘Maybe some day in the future that there may be either a breakthrough in my own body-which is more likely-or a medical breakthrough I might be able to take advantage of.’
Nice one bro @Gussyman90 #GoNavyBlues @CarltonFC #MensSanaInCorporeSano pic.twitter.com/d20mTaErQo
— Jamie Wall (@Jamwall7) April 8, 2015
News that Wall was struck down by such an unexpected injury travelled quickly throughout the GAA. Thousands of messages of support from all across the country arrived at his home in Kilbrittan. The 22-year old is hugely grateful for the support from people and clubs he has never met or visited. He admits that, mentally, the injury has been tough, but the recovery process has taught him lessons about dealing with adversity
‘I never have one day that is a total down and I never have one day totally good. It’s just acknowledging where you are right now and being pragmatic about it but being positive about the future and saying “Its not over yet”, you know?
‘I use the term acknowledge a lot more than the term accept. It’s something I’m a lot more comfortable with using. I’ve a bit of a problem with the word ‘accept’, personally, because I feel that there is a finality to accept where there isn’t to acknowledge.
‘You have to acknowledge where you are but I think its a better word to allow for the possibility of improvement.’
‘It kills you to watch it’
Wall has been battling his injury now for almost 10 months. What improvements has he noticed in his own body that suggest to him that he may one day walk again?
‘The biggest thing that I’m positive for, with my recovery, is the lack of atrophy of my muscles since. The muscle tone and bulk in my legs hasn’t really deteriorated to the extent that I would expect after the amount of time I’ve spent in a chair.’
‘There is a huge amount to do while in a wheelchair and thousands live great lives while in a wheelchair. My path at the moment is to try and find a way out of it. Everyone has their own path and you can do both so that’s my motto at the moment.’
Wall is backed up with media requests to talk to him ahead of the charity game organised between Cork and Kilkenny, this Saturday, in Pairc Ui Rinn. In different circumstances it could have been the 22-year-old preparing for the Allianz Hurling League final next week against Waterford. He admits that he now has mixed feelings when watching sport and some of his former colleagues
‘I still have interest in sport but it’s bittersweet… You’re watching it on telly and, like, you can’t take your eyes off it but it kills you to watch it.
‘It’s hard to find the balance and maybe I’m not quite there yet.’
‘I’ve been quoted before saying it’s easier to watch Manchester United than Cork because I gave up thinking I could play for them when I was 13. Only on the day of the injury did I give up the dream of playing for Cork.’
So who does he think will come out on top on Saturday night on Leeside?
‘No such thing as a friendly when Cork and Kilkenny meet with Cork in a league final and Kilkenny not going great. Both teams will be strong. It’s Cork versus Kilkenny and to my mind it’s the biggest rivalry in hurling.’
And his hopes for his own recovery?
‘I am hoping to get back to Cambridge for a week or two and work on my rehab year and, in the next six to 12 months, there may be some breakthrough that I could get access to. I want to keep myself in good shape so if that does happen I’ll take advantage of it.’
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