About Matt

My name is Matt king, and I am a 20-year-old ventilator dependent C2 complete. I was injured on the 04.04.2004, when I was 17 playing in my first professional rugby league match for London Broncos Academy in Halifax. 20 seconds into the match I went into a tackle and dislocated C3 – C4 when the knee of one of my teammates also involved in the tackle hit me in the side of the head. The disc between the vertebrae ruptured, and my level of injury rose to C2. I was airlifted from the pitch to Leeds ITU where I remained for two weeks, until I was flown down to Luton and Dunstable Hospital in Bedfordshire to be nearer home. I stayed in the L&D for just over a week until was transferred to Stoke Mandeville ITU for another week. I remained in Stoke Mandeville for nine months until the December when I moved back home for good.

In February 2005 I began returning to school for a few hours every week to pick up my A levels again. In the September I returned to school full-time and picked up two A-levels in History and Geography, which I completed in June 2006 achieving two ‘A’ grades (which I was chuffed to bits with!). These grades, and an awful lot of organising and planning enabled me to undertake a law degree at University of Hertfordshire. I attend Uni four days a week and have just completed my exams for my first year and am currently (nervously) awaiting my results. This summer I have two different work placements lined up: one working in a solicitors firm, and another shadowing a criminal lawyer for a few weeks which will be great.

I currently live at home with my two parents, my younger brother and my dog ‘Fudge’ in Langford, Bedfordshire, UK, and I have an older brother who lives with his girlfriend in Manchester.

I started playing rugby at the age of 7 for my local club, Biggleswade RUFC. At the age of 12 I was selected to play for Bedfordshire County, and I represented my county at every age group up to U16. At the age of 16, I was selected to play for the East Midlands regional side in the Midlands divisional championships, which we won without losing a game. At the age of 14 I was given a scholarship by London Broncos, and it was through this that I was selected to represent the South of Great Britain and Wales rugby league, who I also played for at under 15 and under 16 level. In the summer of 2003 I travelled to Australia and New Zealand on a rugby tour with Bedfordshire Tigers, a tour in which we won six of the seven games we played! In February 2004 I was selected for the London Broncos Rugby League Academy, and it was in my first competitive game which is injured.

As for the future, I am just aiming to stay fit and healthy to give me the best possible opportunity to benefit from any potential medical breakthroughs, however, in the meantime I just aim to continue making the most of, and enjoying life...