Support for injured players can take many forms – from helping with mobility apparatus and medical care to home adaptions and transport provision. For one player who recently suffered an on-field injury, assistance was also geared towards improving their mental wellbeing.
Zak Morrison was injured while playing for Whitecraigs last year, ten minutes before the end of the match. It was immediately clear that he required medical attention and the team’s sports therapist promptly attended to him on the pitch.
“Zak received excellent on-field care,” says his mum, Emma, “followed by a rapid ambulance response. He was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for further assessment and treatment – by a fortunate coincidence, the Glasgow Warriors team doctor was on duty in A&E that evening, ensuring continuity of expert care.”
It was subsequently confirmed that Zak had fractured his neck and he was admitted to a ward, where he remained for the next week. Bad enough, but the outcome could have been much worse.
Emma says, “The immediate pitch-side care deserves special recognition. The rapid response and expertise shown in those first critical moments made an immeasurable difference and very likely prevented spinal cord damage. For some, this may be seen as ‘just doing their job,’ but for us it was life changing. We will always be profoundly grateful to our team’s sports therapist.
“Zak received outstanding support throughout, and we are very grateful to everyone involved in his treatment.
“Spending a full week flat on his back, requiring a five-person nursing roll for even the simplest activities, was incredibly challenging. The level of care he required was significant, and we were acutely aware of the immense hospital resources involved.
“Our NHS was exceptional — we couldn’t fault the care or professionalism shown at any stage. Follow-up care by our local district nursing team twice a week was also outstanding.”
While Zak was never short of visitors, practical help and support during this time – from his club coaches, staff and president to teammates, friends and family – as the days turned into weeks, his family came to realise that emotional wellbeing support can be far harder to access and sustain.
“The ripple effect of Zak’s injury has been significant,” explains Emma, “across Whitecraigs Rugby Club, among his friends and throughout our wider family. As his parents, and for his brother, it was an incredibly difficult time.
“For a long period, we operated on autopilot — focusing only on what needed to be done each day and simply keeping going. It’s probably only now, in the months that have followed, that we are beginning to fully understand the magnitude of what happened and its wider impact.
“There were many layers to this: the financial worry while Zak was unable to work, the sudden loss of the sport he has loved since childhood, and the emotional weight that accompanies such an abrupt life change. Alongside this, we experienced extraordinary kindness and practical support from those around us.
“However, we also became aware of the gaps — particularly in emotional and psychological support for individuals and families navigating serious injury. I work in mental health and see similar gaps in support in other circumstances, which has strengthened my determination to explore how we might better support others facing comparable situations.”
Prior to his injury, Zak’s family were already aware of the work of Hearts + Balls, having seen the Whitecraigs club benefit from the defibrillator provided during our recent campaign. They had also welcomed a Hearts and Balls MB team to the first VSN Sports 7s at Whitecraigs RFC tournament which had taken place just four months before his accident.
Following Zak’s injury, Hearts and Balls reached out with both financial support and regular check-ins throughout his recovery.
“That kindness and continued contact meant a great deal to Zak and to us as a family,” explains Emma. “It wasn’t just the practical assistance but the sense of being remembered and supported during a very difficult time.”
Following the accident, Zak was off work and at home for 12 weeks. Since then, he has made steady and determined progress, and is now back driving, has returned to work, college and the gym. A couple of weeks ago, for the first time, he was able to run again.
“It wasn’t just the twelve weeks in a neck brace that were challenging,” Emma adds, “but the period that followed — and the ongoing restrictions that continue to shape daily life. These have affected work, exercise, and milestones along the way, including missing his 21st birthday celebration.
“The impact of such an injury is profound. There are losses along the way that are difficult to articulate and, at times, even harder to process. Zak has played rugby since he was four years old. For that to stop so suddenly, at just 20 years of age and be forced to retire as a first-team regular in his prime, has been incredibly tough – not sure many of us can understand that loss.”
As a rugby club and as a family, Whitecraigs and the Morrisons have been keen to explore how they can now support Hearts and Balls in return — helping ensure that others finding themselves in similar circumstances receive the same care and support as Zak.
Alongside several of his former teammates, Zak has signed up for the Loch Lomond Marathon, which will take place exactly one year to the day from his discharge from hospital — a very fitting and meaningful marker in his recovery journey.
He’s now focusing on completing his electrician apprenticeship and looking ahead to what the future holds. While the path may be different from the one he had imagined, his determination remains the same.
“Above all,” concludes Emma, “this experience has reminded us not to take life for granted. Everything really can change in an instant.”
