Hey everybody, Happy Christmas!

These past few weeks and months have been really busy, and a steep learning curve for me. Firstly, I am really enjoying my time at Stewarts Law, and have settled in well. My first few weeks, or even the first month, in the office were quite tough as I was not only trying to get up to speed with the caseload, but was also trying to get to grips with the office procedures, and simple things like working out how the photocopier worked… It was something that I guess everybody goes through when they start a new job, and I think everybody in the office has been there at some stage or another! I broke up for the Christmas break yesterday, and have a nice few weeks of before I return in the year… The Christmas parties have been great fun! Last Friday was the Firms Christmas party, and was held at the Renaissance Hotel in King's Cross. It was a beautiful setting, and the food and entertainment was bang on – a few too many beers were drank, but it is Christmas after all :) I now feel completely settled, and am confident that I am doing a good job!

About a month ago, they also had my professional speaking debut at the Royal Salford Hospital. I was invited to speak to a group of 100 nurses who were attending a pressure ulcer conference – at the moment, the NHS are really trying to clamp down on the prevention of avoidable pressure sores, and therefore I was asked to speak about, amongst other things, the role that pressure sores, and ultimately the prevention of pressure sores, plays in my day-to-day life. During my time speaking with patients in the spinal unit at Stanmore as part of my role as Peer Adviser with the Spinal Injuries Association, I met with many patients who were spending long periods of time on bed rest as they had developed pressure sores. I imagine it must be sole destroying to have to spend so much time in bed waiting for the tissue to repair itself, and aside from the emotional and psychological impact this will have on the patients, the beds that they are occupying for the weeks, and months it takes for the pressure sore to heal could be being used by those that desperately need them for their rehabilitation. Overall, the talk went really well and I've received great feedback which is a great confidence booster, and I'm greatly looking forward to my next talk! Over the next year or so, my plan is to try and do quite a few talks to try and improve my style and the content of my talks to ensure that going into the future, I can build a reputation as a respectable, quality professional speaker :)

I am going back to Langford to spend Christmas Day with my family. I think I have got to the age now where Christmas is no longer so much about the presents (although they are a bonus!), But rather about spending time with family and loved ones. It is becoming a bit of an annual tradition that me and my two brothers go out on Christmas Eve and have a night out together, so once again I am looking forward to that!

I hope that everybody has a fantastic Christmas and New Year, and that you stick to your New Years Resolutions

Matt x

I am now two weeks into my working life, and am enjoying it greatly! I am working part-time, only three days a week, but at the moment that is proving to be enough. I don't have to be in the office until 10:30 AM, so that allows me to have a semi-respectable 6 AM start which isn't too much of a killer, and I manage to be in the office by just after 10 AM which works perfectly. I get a train from Bedford and book assistance to help get me on and off the train with the use of a ramp, and so far it has worked seamlessly (touch wood). It is great working in central London, and a nice feeling to be in the hustle and bustle of the City, although it does get a bit hairy leaving the office in rush hour, and doing my best to avoid everybody and everything in my wheelchair! Now that I am finally working, I have taken the time to reflect over the past couple of days on the journey my life has taken, particularly this past seven years since my accident, and doing not only my time in hospital, but also in the months that followed my discharge home, I didn't think that it would be possible for me to be a fully fledged taxpayer, but here I am :)
Much of this past month has been spent preparing for work, but I have also began working with a professional speaker, Steve Head, with the ultimate goal of beginning to do corporate keynote speeches in the future. So far we have had four sessions together, and I think we have come up with a good framework on which to base my talks, so now I just need to start adding some meat to the bones as it were, in preparation for my first talk in December!
My holiday on a cruise to the Mediterranean was really great, and I enjoyed it thoroughly! Great weather, lovely people and I think it was the best possible way to prepare for the beginning of my working life :)
Lastly, I would just like to summarise my thoughts on England's performance at the Rugby World Cup... truly woeful. They completely underperformed, and although they managed to scrape through the pool stages, they were shown up hugely in the game against the French, and we quite rightly got dumped out of the competition. Not meaning to jump on the bandwagon, but I think the whole squad needs a big shakeup in time for the beginning of the six Nations, and by that I mean a lot of the old guard need to be dropped from the squad, and fresh blood brought into replace them.
Matt

Exciting times ahead! Having spent the first 19 years of my life at school, and then the last five years at university, I am now about to start work officially for the first time in my life, and although I am slightly nervous, I can't wait. I begin work as a trainee solicitor in London at the start of October, and although it has been a very long road getting to this point, I'm so pleased to have achieved what I have and to have put myself in this position. A few weeks ago I travelled down to London to meet some of my future colleagues -- when I begin work as a trainee, I will be working alongside four other new trainees who are starting at the same time as me, in addition to 7 trainees already working for the firm, and it was these trainees who I met for a few drinks -- it was a really nice evening, and despite the fact I got slightly lost getting there, it was very reassuring to use the train to get into London as it proved that the travel to and from work shouldn’t prove to be too much of an issue for me. When I start, I will once again be working with my scribe, Pam, who I have been working with since I returned to school in 2006 to finish my A-levels. Pam has played a huge part in me getting to the stage, and I'm really pleased that she will be continuing to work with me for the foreseeable future, so as I said above, the months ahead are going to be very exciting, if not a little daunting!
I am going away on a cruise to the Mediterranean this weekend for a fortnight, so that is also something that I am greatly looking forward to. I am travelling with my mum, and also a team of four carers, and although it is a great shame that my dad and my younger brother won't be able to come, it should be a great trip nevertheless. I think my dad is actually secretly looking forward to having the run of the house for a couple of weeks, and has got more than a few rounds of golf lined up, and Michael is going away on the day I return home, so he is really looking forward to that. My mum and I are going to Barcelona, Monaco, Rome, Corsica and finally Gibraltar -- when we went there a few years ago, I fell in love with Rome, so once again we are going to be taking a guided tour around the city, so this should be the highlight of the trip for me, but to be honest, it is just going to be great to get away, take in some sunshine and generally relax for a few weeks. Saying that, I can't say the past couple of months have been too strenuous for me, given that I have had no uni work to be getting on with!
The Rugby World Cup is due to start in a few weeks time, and although I miss the start whilst away, I will be back in time for when the tournament really begins to get serious. To be honest, although I obviously hope that England do well, I can't say that their performances this past couple of weeks against Wales and Ireland have been too great, and when compared to the quality and speed of rugby played by the Southern Hemisphere teams, I think we will have a tough job being able to compete with them, and given that the tournament is being staged in New Zealand, I genuinely can't see past the Kiwis taking the trophy home. However, that has been the case in the past and they have always seemed to choke at the final stage of the tournament, and although unsporting, I'm secretly hoping that this will be the case again and England can take advantage! Fingers crossed.
Finally, I have had to take the tough decision in the past few weeks to resign from my post as a peer advisor with the Spinal Injuries Association. I have acted as a peer advisor in the spinal unit at Stanmore hospital for the past 18 months, and have really enjoyed it and have hopefully made a small difference to the lives of some of those patients in the spinal unit, however, unfortunately when I begin work I will not be able to continue both roles alongside one another, and therefore it is for this reason that I have had to resign. It has been a great experience volunteering in the spinal unit, and I hope that I have been able to draw on my own experience to make the lives of the patients in the unit, and their families, slightly easier during the difficult times they're experiencing.
Anyway, adios!
Matt x

Hey all, as I write this the sun is shining and it feels as if the summer has finally arrived for good! Yesterday I went to Whipsnade zoo with my younger brother, Michael, and his girlfriend, Sarah, and the weather was fantastic and it was a great day to relax and contemplate the fact that I have now finished university for good, and am no longer a student. I started my law degree in 2006 so it has been a long five years getting to this point, but I am really happy to be at this point and am looking forward to beginning my career later this year with Stewarts Law. I begin my training contract with the law firm in October, so that leaves me with a long, relaxing summer to look forward to :)
As for the summer, I don't really have too many plans, and that is a nice feeling, particularly given that I no longer have university work to do, and no other outside pressures. I think a priority for the coming weeks will be putting everything in place for when I begin work, and that will mainly consists of speaking with Stewarts and ensuring that I have everything sorted my end, and that as far as possible everything is in place at the office to allow me to hit the ground running when I start. I am going on holiday in September on a cruise to the Mediterranean with my mum which I am greatly looking forward to, and should be a great way to relax before I start work a few weeks later.
I am really pleased with how my house and garden are coming together, and plan to spend much of my time relaxing in the garden reading some books this summer. This has been something that I have been able to do recently as I have always had lots of reading to do for university, so I am sure that by the end of the summer I will have got quite a tan!
Right, I'm off now to do what I just said I was going to, and am going to soak up some rays in the garden
Matt x

First of all, I would like to pass on massive congratulations and thanks to Jack and John who completed their Paris/London bike ride and arrived in Trafalgare square bang on time on April 4th. I went down to London to greet them along with their families, and it was a great experience. They had some crazy stories about their trip, and it was a lovely day and one I am sure none of us will forget. Both Jack and John were playing in the game in which I got injured in 2004, so I am sure it was as poignant for them as it was from me as none of us would ever have expected that seven years down the line, we would all be in London celebrating the completion of such a marathon challenge! Here are a few pictures of the day: http://www.goforitmatt.com/modules/myalbum/viewcat.php?cid=38
I am currently on my Easter holidays from university, and have been enjoying the beautiful weather! Now that I have a bit of time spare, I have been in my garden designing a raised flower bed, which although it will never challenge Ground Force, I am quite proud of it! I have never had much to do with the garden when living at home, so I didn't really know what plants and flowers would go together, and to be honest I still don't... in summary, I have some green ones, yellow ones and red ones! That is the extent of my knowledge.
I travelled up to Manchester on the Monday bank holiday just gone to see my brother and watch the motor racing at Oulton Park. It was a great day, although we never seemed to be in the right place around the track to see much overtaking going on or crashes taking place, but it was fun nevertheless. I have been really enjoying the start of this year's Formula One season, and hopefully if the racing continues in the same vein as it has started, we should be in for an exciting season... fingers crossed!
Before I go any further, I have too pass on my congratulations to Bedford Blues who have reached the final of this year's British and Irish cup, and who play Bristol in the final in a few weeks time. They beat Worcester in the semi-final last weekend on a scorching Saturday at Goldington Road where the rugby matched up to the amazing weather, so it was a fantastic day and I can't wait for the final... come on you blues!
It is great being in my new home, and I have settled in nicely now. I have been having the dogs over quite a lot recently, and they really enjoy the walks around here as there are a lot of lakes which they love jumping in despite me telling them not to! I had my first barbecue here the other day, which went really well and was a lovely evening -- a bonus was the fact that nobody went down with food poisoning!
Anyhow, I hope everybody is enjoying the lovely weather and fingers crossed it continues for the summer

Jack and John are currently 80 miles south of Calais and are going great guns! Should there be no wrong turnings or mishaps, they should be arriving in Trafalgar Square late Monday afternoon -- can't wait to see them to congratulate and thank them! Wish them all the luck!

April 4th this year will mark the seventh anniversary since my accident in 2004 in which I broke my neck, and my life as I knew it was turned upside down. To mark this anniversary, two of my teammates who were playing in the game in which I was injured for London Broncos under 18 Academy, Jack Malin and John Sullivan, are going to take on the mammoth challenge of cycling from Paris to London in just four days, arriving in London at Trafalgar Square on April 4th.
If you would like to sponsor Jack and John, who have chosen to raise money for my Trust Fund, please find the two potential payment methods below. The Matt King Trust Fund, which was formed in the aftermath of my accident, is designed to provide funds to cover financial outgoings and costs directly related to my accident which would not have arisen but for my disability. In the past, the Fund has paid towards my electric wheelchair, my wheelchair accessible vehicle and other medical equipment I require.
Please find below the press release which has been sent out to publicise Jack and John's marathon challenge:
Team-mates’ sponsored cycle for Matt King
Two former London Broncos academy players are to cycle 300 miles from Paris to London to raise money for their friend and former team-mate Matt King.
Jack Malin and John Sullivan, both 23, are embarking on their marathon ride on April 1 – that ends four days later on the seventh anniversary of the fateful game at Halifax in which Matt broke his neck.
Matt spent the next nine months after the accident in Stoke Mandeville hospital in Buckinghamshire and is now confined to a wheelchair and is dependent on a ventilator to breath after being left paralysed.
Matt’s courage has been well-documented, and his strength in adversity described in a recent article in the Daily Telegraph as “superhuman”.
Since the accident he finished his A levels and went on to study law at the University of Hertfordshire where he gained a first class honours degree.
Matt, who refuses to be bitter about the accident and still enjoys both codes of rugby, has also taken part in the New York marathon and last year even learned to paint with the aid of a mouthpiece.
Matt, 23, is training to be a solicitor and later this year begins work with the London law firm Stewarts Law, a firm that specialises in serious personal injuries.
Matt, who needs 24-hour care has recently moved into his own purpose-built bungalow in Bedford, has over the years received the support of the Rugby Football League benevolent fund. Mf
Personal trainer Jack Malin from St Albans said: “I think it is important to continue our support for Matt and not forget how much he has achieved over the past seven years.
“Matt’s attitude towards his injuries just shows what a remarkable person he is and I am looking forward to celebrating with him back in London in April.”
And secondary school business and economics teacher John Sullivan who teaches at Licensed Victualler’s School and lives in Ascot said: “Matt has been an inspiration to me in many ways, this bike ride is to celebrate how far he has come since that tragic day.
“The journey we will embark on can not be compared to the life- long journey Matt has endured but it is the least we can do to show our respect to a true friend.”
Matt said: “Both Jack and John were playing in the game in which I got hurt in 2004, and it means a great deal to me that they continue to support me almost seven years down the line.
“This bike ride is going to be a massive challenge for them, and I will be there in London to see them over the finish line and buy them their first celebratory drink!

Very exciting news! I moved into my own home on 23rd December, and despite a few teething problems, pretty much everything went according to plan. So where am I living...? It is a wheelchair accessible bungalow on the outskirts of Bedford, and is perfect for what I need. I am able to access everywhere in the bungalow in my wheelchair which is a great feeling and it hasn't taken too long to begin to get everything the way I like it, in a fashion at least. Christmas Day brought me many delights for my house from Santa, including tea towels and olive oil! Ha ha, in all seriousness, Christmas was fantastic and it was great to have everybody home under one roof. It didn't take long for Mum and Dad to take occupation of my old bedroom... in fact, by Christmas Eve pretty much everything had been stripped out and the debate had begun as to how to use the room -- Michael was insistent on a snooker table, Dad a humongous TV and Mum too many ideas to mention. Mum won.
New Year's Eve was a really good night. I went out into Bedford with my cousin and a few of our friends. Needless to say, one too many drinks were had, but all in all it was a great start to the New Year. I had two New Year's resolutions this year: firstly, not to eat in bed at night, and secondly, not to eat takeaways. I broke the first resolution within the first week, and last night succumbed to the delights of KFC! I'm not too impressed with my will power.
I've currently got Fudge and Barney staying with me. It took them no time at all to settle in, and it is nice that they still remember me! Fudge still jumps on my bed at night and goes to sleep on me for an hour or so before going to sleep in the corner of my room, and Barney is just Barney.
It was great to have a break from uni over Christmas. What with the house move, and the usual stresses of buying Christmas presents, it was good to have some free time to get everything done. I've got exams coming up in the next month or so, so I really have got to get my head down and do some work!
Take care,
Matt x

Hi all!
Very exciting news! I have recently got my own home on the outskirts of Bedford, Bedfordshire. It is a bungalow which has been purposely built for wheelchair users, and is absolutely perfect for me As you can imagine, as this will be my first home I have a lots of things I need to buy, so am currently in the process of buying everything to make it my castle! Depending on the delivery of furniture etc, I should be in the side of Christmas.
On Sunday, November 14th I attended the Variety Club Showbiz Awards in London. The variety club are a charity which provides invaluable assistance to underprivileged, sick or disabled children, and they did much to help me in following my accident in 2004 when I was still 17. I was invited to give a short talk on the impact that the variety club have had on my life, and although I was incredibly nervous beforehand, hopefully it went okay! I was fortunate enough to meet some lovely people, and have uploaded some photos onto the website: http://www.goforitmatt.com/modules/myalbum/viewcat.php?cid=37&orderby=dateD It was certainly an evening I will never forget!
I was completely amazed by England’s performance in the rugby against Australia at the weekend! For the first time in what seems like an eternity, they played some adventurous, running rugby which was great to watch and certainly got Twickenham jumping! Hopefully it wasn’t a one-off, and we can build on the victory for the remainder of the autumn internationals, and make a big push for the World Cup next year. Here’s to hoping anyway!
Matt x

Hi all!
It looks as if summer is finally over, and I have returned back to uni for my final year of study. All going well so far and I am enjoying getting to grips with two new subjects -- property law and criminal litigation.
My job with the Spinal Anjuries Association down at the Stanmore spinal injuries unit is really enjoyable. Now that I have been there a few months, I have got to know the patients and their families quite well, and it really is good to see them progress from their initial admission through to their discharge. I have hopefully been able to make a difference to their recovery in as much that I have been able to answer questions and provide support where necessary. Although every person's injury and circumstances are different, there are certain common traits which affect all people suffering from spinal cord injury, and being able to speak through my experiences with the patients not only hopefully helps them, but, although cliche, also allows me to learn from them.
The new rugby season has started up, and Bedford are doing really well so far! They are currently sitting second in the table, having only lost one game this season, and are playing a good brand of entertaining rugby. On Saturday it was Ladies Day at the club where a lot of money was raised for Breast Cancer Care which was fantastic.
I am travelling up to Manchester on Saturday to attend the Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford between St Helens and Wigan. Wigan have been the standout team all season, so I hope they finish it off with a victory.
My younger brother, Michael, has recently began work with British Gas as a trainee and is staying at the Leicester during the week on a training course for the next four or five months. He seems to be enjoying it so far which is great and I'm chuffed to bits he has got such a fantastic job and is doing so well for himself!
Take care
Matt x

Last night I received my results for the exams I sat back in June, and am chuffed to bits to let you know that I got a distinction! Definitely made all the hard-work & revision worthwhile, so now I have four weeks relaxation until I return to uni in September!
My new job with the Spinal Injuries Association is going really well. It was quite nerve wracking at first going into the ward and meeting with staff and patients, but all went well and I am really enjoying my position there. It is great seeing the progress made by the patients and seeing their outlook on life and their prospects improve over time. I feel as if I have been able to make a difference in some small way, so it's all good.
For the past two weeks I have been working down in London with Stewarts Law, the law firm I have got my training contract with to begin next year. I have been given some really interesting projects to work on, and although it has been tiring, it has been very enjoyable and I'm looking forward to starting next year. Yesterday, I sat in on a hearing in the Royal Courts of Justice which was a great experience and one I learnt a lot from.
I am really enjoying my summer break from University, and I'm pleased that we have finally had a summer to be proud of! My tan is progressing nicely, and I am slowly working my way through a number of books which I have been planning to read for a long time.
England's performance in the Football World Cup was a massive disappointment to say the least. Despite the massive howler by the Ref against Germany, they never deserved to go through so I wasn't overly surprised when they got hammered.5
Here's to hoping that the warm weather continues!
Matt x

First of all, and it seems like I am always saying this, but I have exams in a couple of weeks and am therefore ploughing into the revision again. I have two exams, one in Employment Law and one in Solicitors Accounts. I am quite confident about the Employment exam, but I am truly terrible at Solicitors Accounts and therefore may need a little bit of luck! Please cross your fingers for me!
I interviewed for a part-time job with the Spinal Injuries Association earlier this week and I'm really pleased to let you know that I have been given the post. I will be the Peer Advisor for newly injured patients and their families at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and Spinal Injuries Unit at Stanmore Hospital. It will involve speaking with patients, their families and the staff at the unit and offering advice and support where appropriate, and also being somebody who they can approach if they need questions answering or other information. It is only one day a week so I can do it in conjunction with my university studies and hopefully I can make a difference in the lives of the patients and their families. I start next week and I'm really looking forward to it.
A few weeks ago I attended the Variety Club annual Property Industry Awards in London and gave a brief talk about what a difference having my electric wheelchair has made to my life. The Variety Club funded a large proportion of my wheelchair, and the purpose of the event was to raise much-needed funds so they can purchase more wheelchairs for children who desperately need them. I think my contribution was well received, and the event as a whole raised approximately £450,000 so it was a great success! I met some lovely people, including Miss World 2010 and also Lawrence Dallaglio and have posted the pictures on this website at the following link: http://www.goforitmatt.com/modules/myalbum/viewcat.php?cid=36&orderby=dateD
I also travelled down to London last week to watch Mamma Mia in the West End for the birthday of a close friend of mine. I am a bit of a girl, and love musicals and it was right up my street... really enjoyed it!
I will let you know how my exams go!

Things the University have been quite hectic recently. I have sat the exams for my first set of electives, and have began studying for my second -- Employment Law and Solicitors Accounts. I am delighted to let you know that I received a Distinction for my first elective, Business Law and Practice, and passed all the other models which are assessed on a pass or fail basis. I'm quite enjoying studying Employment Law again as I previously studied it at undergraduate level, so at the moment I am just becoming familiar again with the concepts I learnt for my degree and building upon my knowledge. My exams are not for a couple of months, so I have a while before I have to start revising again.
Last weekend I travelled down to London to support a close friend of mine, Gemma Couchman, who was running in the Virgin London Marathon in support of the Spinal Injuries Association. She managed to complete the course in just over five hours which was an awesome effort, and in the process raised in excess of £5000 for the SIA! Really proud of her, and it has reinvigorated my desire to do the London Marathon, so I will get on to the powers that be and do my best to get an entry.
A few weeks ago I was invited to speak at a function on behalf of the Variety Club at Churchill's War Cabinet Rooms at Whitehall in London. The evening was raising money for the Easy Riders Wheelchair Program which funds manual and electric wheelchairs for children under the age of 18. It was a great evening which raised a fair bit of cash, and my talk was well received by everybody there. I am also involved in another event for the Variety Club later this month at the Hilton in London at which 900 people will be present, including Miss world! I'm sure I will get quite nervous nearer the time as I've never spoken in front of that many people, but I'm looking forward to it all the same.

When will this cold weather ever end?! I can't wait until spring arrives and I can start taking in some rays... as like last year, I am planning to turn my back garden into a bit of a vegetable patch. My Mum has bought so many seeds that I think we could start a business provided we manage not to kill everything first! Last year I had a bumper crop of tomatoes which I don't think I will be able to beat, however I do plan to harvest a bumper crop of carrots this year -- they took forever to grow last year and I only managed to get a few tiddlers at the end of the summer. I am hoping for better luck!
I am currently in the depths of revision for my exams which I sit in any few weeks time. My mock exams went well so fingers crossed I can pull it off. Really enjoying the course this year!
I really haven't been too impressed with the performances the England Rugby team have been putting in these past few weeks. When I was growing up playing rugby, my coach, Paul Raitt, banned all forms of kicking to get the team in the habit of only kicking as a matter of last resort, however, that is clearly not a philosophy Martin Johnson coaches by. I really hope that he picks some of the up and coming players for the remaining games of the six Nations... we will have to wait and see!
I am going to the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville tomorrow to give a talk to the relatives of newly injured patients about coming to terms with a spinal cord injury, and practically living with it in everyday life. I hope that I'm able to offer some useful advice and hopefully give them some hope that when they do get out of hospital, they are still able to lead a meaningful and enjoyable life. I am looking forward to it, however have to say I'm a little nervous.

Well, skiing was awesome. I spent a total of seven days out in Sweden and had a fantastic time. Four of the days I spent skiing, and although I was unwell on the fifth day I was due to ski, I loved the whole trip. At their coldest, temperatures dropped to -22°C during the day without windchill added on, so it was definitely a shock to the system. I travelled with four other spinal injured adults, and about 12 further able-bodied people who helped out during the week with anything the spinally injured passengers required, from getting dressed to simply eating and drinking. Please have a look at the pictures I have added:
http://www.goforitmatt.com/modules/myalbum/viewcat.php?cid=34&orderby=dateD
I had a fantastic New Year's Eve in the end. I went to Milton Keynes and saw the New Year in with a group of my friends at the Oceana nightclub -- fantastic night and a great start to the year. Needless to say my memories of the evening are vague to say the least -- pictures attached:
http://www.goforitmatt.com/modules/myalbum/viewcat.php?cid=35&orderby=dateD
Really looking forward to the Six Nations rugby tournament which starts this weekend. Will be interesting to see if England have progressed at all since the autumn internationals.
University is going well. I got quite a long way behind whilst away in Sweden, and had great difficulty catching up and understanding the work, but think I am just about there now thanks to many hours working with my Mum!