A 20-year-old student who has been left unable to use his right arm after suffering a life-changing injury while playing rugby union, is running the London Marathon to raise money for the charity that supported him during the toughest period of his life.

Spencer Wadsworth suffered a 'freak accident' playing rugby in October 2023, just weeks after starting his biomedical science degree at Keele University. Spencer, who had played rugby since he was seven years old, sustained a rare injury to the Brachial Plexus, the network of nerves that sends signals from the spinal cord to the shoulder, arm and hand.

He said: "I spoke to the rugby club during the Welcome Week event at Keele, where you can meet people from all the different clubs and societies that are available to students. I'd played rugby pretty much all my life and in my first match for Keele I got player of the match, but I had a bit of a stinker in the second match. In the third match we went to play at Lancaster University, and that's where I had my accident and spent the next six weeks in hospital.

"I was playing full-back and this big guy came at me at full speed and there was nobody else in the way, so naturally I thought I've got to get my body in front of him because otherwise he will just run through me.

"I don't remember much about what happened next, but apparently, I was unconscious on the pitch. The first thing I remember is being on the floor and telling people that I couldn’t feel my arm. I stood up but fell in an awkward way. I tried to get on my feet, but I couldn’t lift the right side of my body up with my hand.

"My teammates helped me up and walked me off the pitch and I remember having this massive wave of pain down my right arm, and I collapsed again."

Spencer was taken to a nearby hospital in an ambulance, where medics initially told him they thought he had dislocated his shoulder. But when this didn’t show up on an X-Ray, he was sent for an MRI scan.

He said: "The MRI scan took three-and-a-half hours and afterwards, one of the senior doctors came in and told the nurse who was with me that he needed to get my parents here, and they should bring an overnight bag for me. They weren't sure exactly what the problem was, but they said it was serious and something to do with my nerves. By this point I was in a lot of pain."

Spencer, from Coventry, spent the next three weeks in hospital in Lancaster. He was then sent to see a Brachial Plexus expert at London’s Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery. Spencer had damaged all three trunks of his brachial plexus and had detached three nerves from his spine, leaving his right arm paralysed.

"I woke up each day in hospital knowing that I still couldn't move my right arm, but I went into the operation fully expecting to come out with full function again," Spencer said.

"When I woke up after surgery and it became clear that wasn't the case, it was quite a shock. It suddenly dawned on me that my dominant right arm was paralysed, and I had a total breakdown for the first time since it happened. After the surgery I was put into rehabilitation for three weeks before eventually returning home to my parents' house in Coventry, six weeks after the accident happened."

While at home, Spencer found it difficult to come to terms with his life-changing injury and struggled with depression, panic attacks, mood swings and night terrors. But things began to take a positive change when his parents contacted the RFU Injured Players Foundation (IPF), England Rugby's official charity, who visited Spencer at his home.

The charity supports players at any level of the game who sustain a life-changing injury, while playing rugby union in England. Life-changing injuries include those which result in the loss or use of a limb, catastrophic spinal cord injuries or acute, severe traumatic brain injuries. While these injuries remain extremely rare within the sport, the IPF is committed to supporting players for life, if required or as long as a player needs.

Fast forward 17 months from the accident and Spencer is now back at Keele University where he has resumed his biomedical science degree and is still involved with the University's rugby team as a coach. Since his injury, Spencer has received support with his studies and accommodation at university through Keele's Student Services, while his teammates on the rugby team have raised thousands of pounds through fundraising events to support his recovery.

In April he will run both the London Landmark Half Marathon and the London Marathon to raise money for the IPF and has been regularly training on Keele's 600-acre campus. So far, Spencer has raised almost £2,500 for the charity.

Spencer said: "The support I’ve received from everybody has been incredible really and quite overwhelming. The IPF dragged me out of a pit, and I'd probably go as far as saying they saved my life in all honesty. I was in a very bad way, although I didn’t realise it at the time. I’m quite a proud person and if you told me I was depressed I would have dismissed it, but looking back, it's clear that I was and that I needed help.

"What happened to me was a freak accident and fortunately things like this are very rare in the sport, but when they do happen, it's fantastic that an organisation like the IPF exists. They visited me at home and said they would look after someone like me for the rest of my life, whether that’s paying for a car to be modified, covering pay while off work, or getting in touch with my university for me. Since then, I've been on ski trips with the charity, attended international rugby matches, and even golf days. The support has been incredible, and that’s why I'm running the London Marathon for them, to show how grateful I am and to give something back.

"The thing that has had the biggest impact on me through the charity has been the group therapy, where I've been able to meet people in similar situations to myself and hear their stories. At first, I thought my life was over, and I was thinking things like will I ever get a girlfriend or have children, but the charity has given me a reality check, and I now know I can still do all those things and more in life despite my injury."

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