Pete Stephenson

All I heard was a loud click, then, in an instant, I was flat on my back paralysed from the chest down. At first, I wasn’t sure what I had done, until I tried to move and couldn’t. The only movement I had was slightly moving my left arm. I knew then something was seriously wrong.

I’d dislocated my neck and shattered two vertebra. The doctors at Hull Royal Infirmary told me I needed surgery to fix the vertebra and realign my neck to release the pressure on my spinal cord, which was causing the paralysis. They made it very clear they didn’t know how much of a recovery I’d make and warned I may never walk again.

As I lay there thinking about what I’d just been told, I felt my whole world had just collapsed around me. All I could think about was how this was going to affect not just my life but that of my partner Emma and our two-month-old boy Sam.

After a successful operation to fix my neck, I was transferred to Pinderfields Spinal Unit in Wakefield to start my rehabilitation. It was here I first heard about the Rugby League Benevolent Fund, when trustees Tim Adams, Phil Clarke and Dave Phillips visited asking if there was anything I needed. My family were visiting daily from Hull so the fund helped with their travel costs and accommodation.

My rehabilitation was slow but after eight months of hard work I became fully independent in my wheelchair, regaining full movement in my arms and limited movement in my legs.

Eight months was long enough for me in hospital. Again the Benevolent Fund came to my aid and I was able to continue with my rehabilitation at home with one-to-one physiotherapy.

I was unable to return to my former job as a skilled joiner/carpenter, so the Benevolent Fund helped fund my sports journalism degree at the University of Huddersfield.  Since then I’ve gone on to forge a successful career with the Operations Department at the Rugby Football League.