Main content

I still believe I'm lucky even after breaking my neck

Rugby player Ed Jackson was told he'd never walk again after he broke two vertebrae in his neck in an accident. Determined to stay positive, his recovery has confounded everyone.

In 2017 Ed Jackson had everything to look forward to. A professional rugby player, the 28-year-old had just signed another two-year contract with the Welsh team Dragons, and he and his girlfriend Lois had got engaged and were planning a fabulous wedding in Italy the following year. All of that changed in a split second when Ed mistakenly dived into the shallow end of a swimming pool. He hit his head with such force that he dislocated and fractured two vertebrae at the base of his neck. Paralysed from the neck down, he was told he would never walk again, but Ed quickly found the positives in his situation and says he considers himself "lucky". It's an attitude that has taken him higher than you could ever imagine - in 2019 he reached the 6,476-metre summit of Mera Peak in the Himalayas. Ed has written a book about his life called Lucky, and his charity is called Millimetres 2 Mountains.

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

(Photo: Ed Jackson. Credit: Ross Silcocks)

Available now

41 minutes

Last on

Fri 19 Nov 2021 03:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Thu 18 Nov 2021 12:06GMT
  • Thu 18 Nov 2021 18:06GMT
  • Thu 18 Nov 2021 23:06GMT
  • Fri 19 Nov 2021 03:06GMT

Featured in...

Contact Outlook

Contact Outlook

Info on how we might use your contribution on air

Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected