A firefighter who was told he would never walk again after being left paralysed in a freak rugby accident has stunned medics by making a miracle recovery in a matter of months. Dad-of-one Ashley Mooney, 31, was left tetraplegic following a horror tackle during a match while playing for Redditch Rugby Club on October 2 last year. He was rushed to hospital with devastating spinal injuries which left him paralysed from the chest down and was told he only had a one per cent chance of walking again. But determined Ashley defied the odds to prove doctors wrong and is not only walking but also now exercising, driving and ready to return to work. His first breakthrough came within just three weeks of the accident when he realised he could wiggle his toes at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Incredibly, by December he was able to stand for the first time after he was transferred to a special spinal unit in Oswestry, Shrops., where he spent his 30th birthday. And after months of rehabilitation, hard work and sheer willpower Ashley astounded doctors by taking his first steps unaided in April. The former on-call firefighter was back behind the wheel driving the following month and is now ready to return to work saving lives following his extraordinary recovery. Ashley said he went from not being able to do anything for himself to regaining his independence in just months after being determined to prove the doctors wrong. Ashley, who lives with wife Victoria, 36, and their 16-year-old son, in Redditch, Worcs., said: “I feel extremely lucky. I just wanted to keep proving people wrong. "I thought my active life was over. “But when I first started to get that movement within after a couple of weeks that’s when the flip switched. “Even when I was moving my legs a consultant said I’d never walk - but I just said I’d prove him wrong." Ashley suffered the severe injury during a ruck clear out while playing against Cannock Rugby Club which left his spinal column 'forced into' his spinal cord. He had crushed both the C5 and C6 vertebrae nerves in his back leaving him with an injury most people never recovery from. Shocking X-ray pictures show how Ashley's spine was left completely bent out of shape giving him little chance of walking again. He added: “It was just a normal Saturday and it was traditional British weather, all rain. “There was an injury early on in the game and that set the mood. “Around 10-15 minutes later I got injured. It was during a clear out. I'm not sure how it happened exactly but obviously contact was made with my head. “I was carted off an hour later over the rugby pitch to an ambulance which took me off to the QE in Birmingham. “They did an X-ray but already I sort of understood this wasn't going to be a quick patch up and back out tomorrow. “They told me I had crushed the C5 and C6 of my spinal column and that it had forced itself into my spinal cord. “I had my 30th birthday in the intensive care unit and I could feel nothing from the chest down." But brave Ashley, who also runs a landscaping and roofing company, was able to move his toes on October 28 and within five days was able to move his legs. He added: "It just went from there. “By December 4, I could lift my arms and grip. I started doing my own exercises in my room, I had a 1kg dumbbell which I used. “It was December 21 when I first actually stood. The physio said I had good leg strength. Playing rugby my legs were always my best asset. “They were able to get me to stand, not completely on my own but I was standing again and knew I had to then literally take the next steps." Ashley was forced to return home earlier than planned on January 17 after his father tragically died. But even this he used as inspiration, as he became determined to carry his dad's coffin so ditched his wheelchair for a zimmer frame. Following this, he spent weeks at a time at rehabilitation units thanks to help from the Injured Players Foundation and The Firefighters Charity. He added: “I was adamant that I could carry dad. I carried him along with my brothers and uncle. “Then the Injured Players Foundation helped me - they even paid the wife's fuel to see me and helped with the house bills for six months at the start. “I went to their recovery centre and spent three weeks there and after that I didn't need my zimmer anymore. “It was five hours a day of rehab and it was really intense, it’s what you need. “I started driving May 9. I had to go and have an assessment day to asses my driving, which was fine. “In January I was still in a wheelchair, I remember feeling angry, but by May I was driving. "My hands still don't fully work and I have a long list of medication. I also walk with a limp so I won't ever be back to 100 per cent physically. “But I want to go back to firefighting and pass the physical test again. I want to go back to work full
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