Matt Hampson Foundation- 'Get Busy Living' & Meeting Jonny Wilkinson

Hi Everyone,

This post is a little bit different for my blog but is very special. At the end of last year I had the pleasure of attending a 'Matt Hampson Foundation' event with the amazing Scissor, Paper, Stone (a full service international video production and photography company). This particular occasion was a Legends Game and dinner- meaning lots of retired professional rugby players had travelled far and wide to come and have some fun playing a game of rugby and raise money for the Foundation.

So, for those of you who may not know who Matt Hampson is and his story, I will give you a brief overview. Matt is an ex-Leicester Tigers and England U21s rugby player. Unfortunately he was horrendously injured in a match and is now paralysed from the neck down and breathes with the aid of a ventilator. Although everyday is obviously a lot more challenging he hasn't let it defeat him. He has created the 'Matt Hampson Foundation' in which he inspires those in similar circumstances to not lose hope and continue to follow their dreams and help others. The ethos of the Foundation 'Get Busy Living' is exactly what he is demonstrating.

There were multiple times where I almost cried on that day but for different reasons. When Matt was speaking in his interview with us he just filled me with so much motivation, appreciation and made me feel very lucky, and in some ways guilty, for complaining about things, when in fact I'm privileged. This was echoed from other injured players that attended too. So empowering.

Another reason I almost cried was because of a particular camera angle. The players were lead onto the Saracens pitch by Matt Hampson and Joost van der Westhuizen (injured South African player). I just felt overwhelmed with the love, support and the overall team spirit of everyone there. It was amazing.

What made it even more amazing was that I got to meet Jonny Wilkinson- reason number three for almost crying. It was so surreal and I feel so lucky to have been able to have that opportunity as I know many people would kill to be in that position. Yes... I did ask for a selfie...