Tom Matthews: My Story

Thomas Matthews, 19 , from Aberdare had a mountain biking accident in 2008, leaving him with a shattered C6 vetrabrate, he spent a 6 months in rehabilitation at Rookwood, where he met DSW Table Tennis coach, Jim Munkley who introduced him to the DSW Academy, he has now been part of the Academy for two years.

 
I was keen mountain biker and studying carpentry, it was 23^rd March 2008, I was mountain biking with my uncle and a friend, when I hit a jump and didn’t clear the whole jump, my back wheel hit the landing and I got thrown over the handle bars, I closed my eyes and just remember hearing a huge crunch. I was lying on the floor and trying to move my legs to get back up and they wouldn’t move, I touched my chest but I couldn’t feel anything. My uncle came down after and told me to get up and stop messing around, he started to tap feet with a rock but I couldn’t feel anything, he called 999, he knew it was serious.

Tom was a keen mountain biker

When I woke up after the surgery, my dad told me, 'it’s serious Tom, you have broke your neck, and you might not walk again’. We were both in tears but my dad said to me, we will sort this out; you’re going to be fine.  

I first heard about table tennis at Rookwood, when Jim Munkley and Sara Head approached me to have a go, my initial reaction was no thanks. One night, I went to have a look at the club training and they asked me again to have a go, so I did and for the next hour I couldn’t leave the table. I started playing for the Rookwood and then Jim invited to play at Sport Wales National Centre, me and mum would travel from the hospital for me to play.

I left the hospital October 2008, I started training more regularly, I got my car in March 2009, there was a period were table tennis wasn’t my focus and I wanted to enjoy being 17 and do normal teenage things, go out with mates having a good time but some on my friends didn’t know how to react, I am the same person. 

Tom with his DSW Academy coach Jim Munkley

I started missing table tennis, I was bored at home, I gave Jim a ring and asked if I could come back and he was more than happy for me to return.  I now train three times a week and I enjoy it more than ever. I never thought there was life after an injury but now I have realised there is a life, my life is normal other than I am in wheelchair.  It so important to talk about how you feel, I can chat with anyone about my injury and without the academy; I don’t know where I would be.

Follow Tom on Twitter: @TMatthews1992