Footy game turns to horror for girl, 15, left with no feeling from the waist down after getting knocked out – as her family and club rally behind her in recovery battle
- Jaida Samuels, 15, was injured after she was knocked out playing rugby union
- Talented athlete is now in a Sydney ICU with a functional neurological disorder
- Celtics Rugby Club on the Gold Coast have rallied around Jaida and her family
A promising teenage rugby union player faces an uncertain future after an on-field tackle left her in a hospital ICU unit with no feeling from the waist down.
Jaida Samuels, 15, who attends Westfields Sports High in Sydney’s west, was knocked out in the collision last month and doesn’t remember the incident.
Days later, the talented rugby union and rugby league player still had no feeling in her right arm or legs.
And as the weeks continue, doctors don’t know if she will make a full recovery.
Her distraught mother Shannon has been flying from the Gold Coast as often as possible to be by her daughter’s side, but with her partner Luka currently unable to work in his construction job after rupturing his Achilles tendon six weeks ago, money is tight.
Jaida Samuels faces an uncertain future after an on-field tackle during a rugby match in May left her in a hospital ICU unit battling a functional neurological disorder
Jaida’s mother Shannon Mason (pictured right) has been flying from the Gold Coast as often as possible to be by her daughter’s side in a Sydney hospital, where she remains in ICU
Celtics Rugby Club on the Gold Coast have rallied around the family, creating a GoFundMe page, with a goal of $10,000 to assist with ongoing medical costs.
Club president Rata Rawhiti said Jaida’s mental and physical wellbeing remains a huge concern.
‘The doctors say she’s not fully paralysed, it’s just her brain telling her that she is,’ Rawhiti said.
‘It’s been hard on the parents living on the Gold Coast with a daughter half paralysed in NSW…so we (Celtics) wanted to help.’
Rawhiti went onto label Jaida an ‘amazing athlete’, who is ‘quite bright with a huge future.’
Celtics Rugby Club on the Gold Coast have rallied around the family and Jaida, creating a GoFundMe page, with a goal of $10,000 to assist with ongoing medical costs
Many Celtic club members are also determined to get the youngster back on her feet as they ‘hope to see her in a Maroons (rugby league) jersey one day’.
Functional neurologic disorders tend to affect the senses, notably the ability to see, walk, hear and swallow.
The disorder relates to how the brain functions, rather than damage to the brain’s structure.
Symptoms include loss of balance, seizures, difficulty holding down food and blurred vision.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk