About Ricky

Ricky was born in Southampton and grew up in Boyatt Wood, Eastleigh. A talented sportsman, during his school years he attended the Portsmouth FC School of Excellence before moving to Chelsea FC School of Excellence and playing alongside teammates such as John Terry and Bobby Zamora.

Upon finishing Crestwood School he joined AFC Bournemouth on their Youth Training Scheme and spent two years with the club, whilst at the same time representing Southern England at Under 18 level. Ricky then combined playing semi professional football with a career as an assistant golf professional, managing to get his handicap down to 4 during this time.

A highlight of his football career was scoring a 25 yard volley at Wembley whilst representing Eastleigh Football Club. He eventually began working for Southampton Football Club as a community coach, and is in the final stages of his UEFA 'B' licence.

However, on 11 August 2007 his life changed. Whilst out on his motorbike Ricky was involved in a road traffic accident. The injuries suffered were so severe that had he not received such expert treatment he would not be with us here today. In the hour after the accident Ricky received treatment at the scene from the BASICS service and was taken to Southampton General Hospital where he arrived with a Glasgow Coma Scale of 3/15. The scale comprises three tests; eye, verbal and motor responses. The three values seperately as well as their sum are considered. The lowest possible GCS is 3 (deep coma or death), whilst the highest is 15 (fully awake person).

Clearly Ricky was in a critical condition, and his full list of injuries would probably fill most of this website themselves. His medical report details the most significant injuries being a server fracture to his skull that resulted in bleeding and swelling of the brain, a broken back in multiple places, a dislocated shoulder, a ruptured spleen, a compound fracture of his leg, a collapsed right lung, a broken nose, a broken pelvis, and other smaller fractures.

Initially the swelling of the brain was a big concern as his ICP (intracranial pressure) had reached fatal levels. This required drains to be inserted into his skull to relieve the pressure, whilst three operations were performed to stem the bleeding from the arteries in his head. These operations were between 4 and 7 hours respectively, and involved inserting platinum coils around the leaking arteries. Ricky needed 48 coils to be inserted whereas in other cases 1 has been enough to stem any bleeding. The cost of the coils alone are £150,000, with the total cost of his treatment in the region of £250,000 - meaning he has one of the most expensive heads in hampshire.

Despite the injuries Ricky is on the road to recovery, and whilst still needing regular physio, back scans and angiograms of the brain Ricky is mobile and able to live a normal life. He is also now married to Michelle, having tied the knot in August 2008. A truly remarkable recovery.