Rugby: Kiwi help for shattered dream

Ben Lei'a surrounded by well-wishers in Samoa. Photo / Supplied

Lying flat on his back, staring at the ceiling and wondering why he can't make himself stand up, is all Ben Lei'a can do these days.

At the beginning of the year, the then 20-year-old was a promising rugby player for the Marist Club in Samoa, and was selected for the emerging Manu Samoa youth squad set to tour New Zealand in January.

A friendly game the day before the team was to fly saw that dream crushed, after a tackle left his spinal cord damaged and Ben paralysed from the neck down.

Just a few weeks after the accident, he celebrated his 21st birthday in hospital.

New Zealand specialists say his condition is not one that the Samoan healthcare system is adequately equipped to deal with, so Kiwi consultants and the NZ Spinal Trust have become involved in the hope of improving his quality of life.

There is no wheelchair or hospital bed available for Ben to use at his home - a fale with no walls or beds.

Nor is there any financial aid available for him to fund overseas rehabilitation, so he remains in hospital care with the odd visit home where he lies on a mat on the floor, day after day with nothing to do.

The Spinal Trust became aware of Ben's plight last week after hearing from spinal consultant Raj Singhal - one of three New Zealand specialists who are off to visit him next week at their own expense.

"It's a 21-year-old and if we do not intervene at this stage then he's not going to live long."

At Moto'otua Hospital in Apia last night, Ben told the Herald he was grateful for the help and support that those in New Zealand were giving him.

"That's all I can say, thank you for thinking about me.

"I had so many dreams lined up, to play rugby, to play at the World Cup next year. I can't believe I'm not there ... because of something like this."

His caregiver, aunt Liu Soma, said it was hard to see her nephew in that way, knowing the potential he had.

"He is such a hard worker. Every day he tries his hardest to move his fingers, his body - in his mind he can - but it never happens. He cries to me and I tell him to cry, pray, to God."

While the specialists hope to teach Ben's family how to care for him, the trust has been collecting medical supplies and equipment - everything from catheters to a shower chair - to send to him on an Air Force flight next week.

An online appeal has also been set up. Anyone wanting to donate to the appeal can do so by visiting the trust's nzspinaltrust.org.nz website.