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Outlook: I still believe I'm lucky even after breaking my neck

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Ed Jackson climbing a snowy mountain

18/11/2021 GMT

I still believe I'm lucky even after breaking my neck

BBC World Service - Outlook, I still believe I'm lucky even after breaking my neck

Ed Jackson almost died after he mistakenly dived into the shallow end of a swimming pool

Rugby player Ed Jackson was told he'd never walk again after he broke two vertebrae in his neck in an accident. Determined to stay positive, his recovery has confounded everyone.

In 2017 Ed Jackson had everything to look forward to. A professional rugby player, the 28-year-old had just signed another two-year contract with the Welsh team Dragons, and he and his girlfriend Lois had got engaged and were planning a fabulous wedding in Italy the following year. All of that changed in a split second when Ed mistakenly dived into the shallow end of a swimming pool. He hit his head with such force that he dislocated and fractured two vertebrae at the base of his neck. Paralysed from the neck down, he was told he would never walk again, but Ed quickly found the positives in his situation and says he considers himself "lucky". It's an attitude that has taken him higher than you could ever imagine - in 2019 he reached the 6,476-metre summit of Mera Peak in the Himalayas. Ed has written a book about his life called Lucky, and his charity is called Millimetres 2 Mountains. 

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

(Photo: Ed Jackson. Credit: Ross Silcocks)

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