This page has been set up for James by his Family.

James sustained a dislocation of his C3/C4 cervical joint on 25th April 2021 when a scrum collapsed towards the end of a game between James's team Stade Niçois and Narbonne in the French league National. 

This is when James fight began, initially for his life. The incident caused damage to a major blood vessel supplying his brain and damage to his Spinal Cord causing paralysis below the neck and loss of breathing function, among others. Thanks to the quick action of a Doctor who attended the game as a spectator, James made it off the pitch and to Hospital Pasteur, where a surgical team performed emergency surgery to repair the Damaged blood vessel and stabilise his spine. After a second surgery to add further stability to his neck James began the long fight to regain his function and some semblance of his former life. 

James is currently in France at hospital Pasteur Nice continuing this fight. Paralysis has not been his only challenge, additional challenges have risen from his condition: Covid 19, pneumonia, countless UTIs, a grade 4 bed sore leading to a bone infection and first line antibiotic resistant kidney infection. All of which he has fought off, the only remnant unfortunately a gaping hole just above his backside (grade 4 bedsore). Despite these challenges he has made good progress towards his first goal of breathing independently, he can now spend up to 3 hours off the ventilator completely unaided. His time on the ventilator is spent with minimal support as he works to wean himself off the machine. He is also working to retrain his Glottic reflex (which stops food and water going down into his lungs when he swallows). He is also working to regain control of his Autonomic system which regulates his blood flow, pressure and heart rate. 

James is now looking towards new horizons and more specialist help to continue the fight. James's spirit is high and he is excited to push on with his recovery at a new hospital. He will be continuing his rehabilitation at The Royal Buckinghamshire hospital back in the UK. 

The Matt Hampson Foundation is already playing a big part in that, James has spoken to Matt himself about his condition, gaining invaluable advice, insight and inspiration. The family have also been put in touch with an incredible network of support. James and the Family with the support of James's club Stade Niçois, the FFR and the Matt Hampson Foundation have worked together to get James to the best place possible for his recovery. We are incredibly grateful to everybody for the support so far however fight is far from over. It has become clear that this is a marathon not a sprint, so any additional support would mean the world to us and is invaluable to helping James win this fight. 

The Matt Hampson Foundation inspires and supports young people seriously injured through sport through its Get Busy Living Centre in rural Leicestershire. The centre provides expert physiotherapy, specialist personal training, support, mentoring and advice to people suffering a life-changing injury.The centre’s doors were opened in 2018 and is the brainchild of founder and ex-England and Leicester Tigers rugby player Matt Hampson, who himself experienced a life-changing injury in 2005 leaving him paralysed from the neck down, aged just 20.