Dear Mum,
I know that news of the demise of two rugby players in less than a week has reached you, and I understand you are scared, so am I.
Here are a few things I know, I enjoy playing this game, it is almost a second way of life to me, I feel alive when I hold that ball in my hands. You know I have big dreams with this game.
Safety is usually taken seriously by the officials during matches, that is why such cases are rare. Admittedly, more could be done especially in the lower leagues.
As far as I know, the two incidents were freak accidents, the first one, a spinal injury from an attempted tackle that was quickly attended to and the player taken to Aga-Khan Hospital, underwent a successful surgery and was on his way to recovery before succumbing to breathing complications two days later while still in hospital.
The most recent one, occurred after a player went down during play, he reportedly complained of chest pains, he was attended to and transferred to the nearby Nairobi Women’s hospital, further tests were done and a Cardiologist was to see him the very next morning. As you are aware most hospitals don’t have specialists on standby, they call them up when needed.
Unfortunately the player did not make it to the next morning, he succumbed to a suspected cardiac arrest, we still have no word on this, as I write to you we await the pathologist’s report.
Mum, I know you are worried, what if I am next, well I can’t guarantee I won’t be, no body can, what I can guarantee you is..
I will take absolute care of myself when I am on that pitch and off it at all times. I will not neglect any ‘small’ injuries or pains I experience. In the case that I get injured I will follow the doctor’s recommendations and not rush back to play. Remember those supplements I asked you to get me a while back, I will make sure they are right for me and my body, I will take every possible precautionary measure to keep myself safe as I play the game.
I will also put my respective club/team to task regarding my team mates safety and mine, we will not play a match without a fully equipped Ambulance on standby. We will task them in having a qualified physiotherapist at all training sessions and matches to attend to any concerns.
I will be my brother’s keeper to ensure my team mates are always safe, as they will make sure of the same for me.
As players, we shall also task the union with looking into these two incidents to establish whether anything could have been done better to avert these tragedies. To ensure that such incidents are always handled better in the future.
In the meantime, we wont be playing any matches till next year, yes that means I will probably be around on Saturday, we can invite akina cousin nanii for that long planned lunch, ama?
Finally, keep us all in your prayers, as we go through these trying times, especially the families of those who have been bereaved. I hope you now understand the situation better and will continue being my number one fan…
Your Loving Son/Daughter..
(Insert name here)
