It's been a year and about two months now, and looking at it does bring
back memories of the day [cheering] At fifteen, Cody Everson was shoulder-tapped to
play wing for his high school's first fifteen His raw talent was obvious It was one of his first games for the team Just after the kickoff,
I go for the ball There was a guard behind me and he
kind of grabbed me by the shoulder This was a tackle that broke Cody's neck, -Good morning, Cody!
How are you this morning? -I'm okay Over that last year and a half,
we've followed Cody, as he learns to live with a high level of
spinal cord injury. What keeps him going is his dream
of playing sports again. All I'd say is that I'm gonna walk My mates still say, "you know, you're
gonna walk out of here, you're sweet" Yeah, I know, I'm sweet Cody was the youngest player
on the Shirley Boys High School team He had a promising future in the game. One of the things about this
field is, I really wanted to play on it Especially for the first fifteen I come out here sometimes,
on my free periods, and look at it, and it kind of sucks, cause I'm never gonna
be able to play on it again. Wheelchair rugby is his chance
to get back into sport I'm thinking to my
my life ahead in a chair and what I'm gonna do, and
how I'm gonna do it adjusting to what I've got,
and trying to live life to the fullest While still at the spinal
unit, he started training Bloody hell... With normal rugby, my main goal was
to play for the top team, and just like wheelchair rugby, I wanna
play for the top team Every wheelchair rugby player is given
a point ranking, based on their level of function from 0.5 to 3.5 The four players on court at any one time
can't add up to more than eight points Those with a lower level of function, like Cody, have a valuable role as defense players I'm a low-pointer, and that's pretty
much because my level of injury is quite high and I've lost a lot of function in my fingers,
I can't move my fingers, and if I was to put my arm up, it just drops,
I can't lift it back up pretty mission to get the old gloves on My and Tyler have only done this a couple times together He usually gets frustrated, and
tries to avoid it as much as he can Cody was one of the fastest
rugby players in his high school team Now that he's one of the most disabled on court,
he's no longer going to be the star Coming to wheelchair rugby,
and being told "you're not gonna get the ball, you're a blocker" was a bit
of a kick in the back, but now it's like, you know, you are
working in the background, and you might not be getting the spotlight,
but you're the one that's doing the hard work [balls bouncing] [whistle] My job is to, pretty much, block for
high-pointers with more function than me and to stop anyone that
tries to get to him [whistle] Cody's role, more often than not,
is to pick or screen, and that's, basically, get in the way of the opposing players,
to protect our ball carrier -You're right up on the collision...
-Yeah Sholto is my coach, and he's very upfront,
which is good, so he's very honest, so anything that I do wrong,
he'll come up and he'll let me know One of those things that makes me feel
a whole lot better about myself, is that now that I've been put in a chair,
a lot of people sort of "baby me" If I accidentally slip or something,
people come running to help me In rugby, no one's gonna come
help me if I get hit Smash the newcomer is an initiation
rite, which makes Cody feel right at home [wheelchairs colliding] [laughter] [laughter, cheering] It's awesome, you pretty much get
smashed around like that, and it brings you back to the old rugby days, cause you get
smashed like that So yeah, it's good fun [Whistle] [Music] After four months of constant
training, Cody is fitter and stronger, which means he's coping a lot better at home Aw, I hate transfering off this duvet -Yeah, I know it makes it awkward doesn't it? One of my biggest improvements
is transferring myself, so I can independently transfer on to a couch, on to my bed,
and I'm confident doing it, I'm just trying new things now, before I was
scared, and now I'm open to trying things and that's what's helping me through it There's a lot of things that have changed,
that I've had to put up with, since my injury and it is tough, really tough at times,
it hasn't got the best of me yet, I'm trying not to let it. He doesn't really show his downside,<br>he keeps it pretty much to himself I don't know why, because I'd love for
him to talk to me about it I found the bit on the tire,
can you see that? Right there? -Yeah. Oh, it's a hole. It's not a hole but apparently
it's just gonna keep getting punctures because of the tire. One of the guys in the team
was saying to me he can do this stuff himself -Alright, he's got like the same hands as me, yeah. -It's pretty tough, yeah I don't know if I can see myself doing that just yet,
I guess he's had a lot of practice at it My health - it's been up and down, I've had a lot
of chest infections that's been putting me back and putting me back, and, I keep saying to myself
"it's gonna go," but it's not, ever since my pneumonia, about four months ago. We always know when he's ill, and we help him as we possibly can there,
but when he's having a moment, he just keeps it to himself, but I'd want him to,
I'd really love it if he'd turn around and open up to me and let me know. One, two, three! It does actually bring a tear to my eye<br>when I see him that he's not healthy, and if he's in a funny mood,<br>but he always puts a cheerful face on One of the consequences of being in a
wheelchair, are pressure sores, and if Cody's wounds don't heal,
he won't be going to the National Wheelchair Rugby
Champs this weekend A pressure sore is a mark,
it can be somewhere where you can't feel, that you need to watch for, especially on your bum.
It can deteriorate and turn into a hole, pretty much, and then it becomes really bad,
and it can get worse and worse, and deeper and deeper, it can become something you
can put your fist in, your thumb in, if you don't look after it, and, it can kill you. -So there was just that wee line
-Did you wanna look in the mirror? -Yeah -It's just from the underwear, but,
it's looking really, really good, Cody, just about completely gone, and
it's a little bit red, but when I push on it, it goes white, and it's returning back to red, immediately -That's good, that means the blood's flowing still
-Yeah [Whistle] It's the final training session before the
National Champs in Auckland Ok, I want Cody screening for Toddy,
Rick, I want you on the other side... Be together, give and go, all the long. National selectors at the
tournament will be scouting for new talent [Whistle] We've got a big workload plan for Cody,
he's quite possibly gonna get 100% court time, which isn't that common, but it happens
and it's really demanding. I love to be pushed, and I'm there
to help Sholto, when he's got the ball, to make sure he scores, and I'm to take
out the people trying to get to him and that is where I really push myself,
to prove to him and everyone that I can do that If I do something wrong, then I'll try
two times harder the next time to get it right He's really determined, he's a great
athlete, and we try to put him under as much pressure as we can, because in a game,
no one's gonna give him a quarter, everyone's gonna go hard. I honestly think it's not gonna be long,
and the national selectors are really gonna be focusing on him, looking at him,
and I think Cody's got all the makings there. [cheering] I think the boys, they don't expect too much<br>but they do expect a little bit I have been training, and I have high expectations
for myself, so I'm going out there to play good. You can't really squish them down,
it's not really good for them Off to Auckland, for a rugby tournament, so
just gotta pack some clothes, and I still need to sort my rugby stuff out, but, I guess
all this sort of stuff comes first Alright, so you got pills, night bag, - Need to be looking good Bro, you forgot your straighteners, you know, your
main thing, straighteners. Oh my god... - Straighteners, toothbrush, toothpaste. Is that it? Ready to go? - Sweet [Music] - How're ya, dude?<br>- Yeah, alright - You have a good time, aye?<br />I'll give you a ring every day - Everyday? Alright - Yeah, I'll call you everyday. I always do - Alright - See ya! - Alright, love you.<br>- Love you too [Honking] He's gonna do well, he
comes back with a few bruises, but don't worry, he's gonna be looked after,
he' s got a lot of family that's gonna come and see him So I know he'll be wrapped It's not as simple as rocking up
to the airport, now that Cody's on a wheelchair This is his first time flying since the accident There's always a worry with flying,
it could crash, and one of the things I always thought about was, you know,
we can't walk, if anything happens, we can't get out of our seats, leave the
and airplane fast and we gotta wait. Stressful times, when everything doesn't
run to plan, you start stressing I'm trying not to stress right now,
it should be alright. [Music] Cody hasn't yet learned the
value of traveling light [Music] Excuse me, are we able to check in?
Our flight's been delayed, and we're on 921 now and we still thought it was ten to seven...<br>We've got all our stuff And how many bags are you checking in? I've got four bags, plus my rugby chair - You've got six bags
- Yeah, I've got, the toilet chair in one bag, and, yeah, I've only got four bags
-Yeah, luggage bag, wheel bag, toilet chair... -And I've got another one to put my hoodies in
-Oh, dude! - I couldn't fit it all in
- That's crap! Did you carry those bags? -Yeah, I've got a...thingymajiggy.
[laughter] -One, two, three Every step of the journey takes a little longer -One, two, three [Music] -It's weird sitting in these seats, eh? This is where you need your legs [music] - And that one - Have you spotted all your gear? - Got my suitcase, got my toilet chair,<br>got my hoodie bag, yeah [Whistle] [Music] At Nationals, the competition is fierce,
it's Cody's first tournament; he's soaking it up One of the good things about watching games is that
you can watch people in your position This game here is really good to watch Jai,
and see what he does, because he's the same position as me, and I wanna do what he does. and sort of, help my team out help them win, and if that's watching a player that's played for
many years, that's good at what he does, I'll watch him, and try and do what he does I've sorta come here and I feel like I belong, because
I've played rugby before, and now I've got all these guys that play rugby as well,
and they're all really into it, just like me. For his first-ever game,
Cody's facing New Zealand's top team Many of the players are Paralympic<br>gold medalists from the Wheel Blacks [Whistle] - Wait for Cody, wait for Cody! - That's good! [Whistle] The game didn't go well for the
Cantabrians, it was a heavy loss. - We're doing alright, we're doing alright
- I'm working my ass off and I'm getting tired, and that's good, I'm gonna keep working,
and keep trying, and keep pushing shows that I'm doing something. - Do you want me strictly on...
- Just look for Dan - Yeah
-You get him, and then Todd is free Round 2, Canterbury's playing Melbourne [Music] [Whistle] - It's just those little things, the
unforced errors are hurting us - We need to get tighte on defense [Whistle] -Huddle up! After a good performance, Cody's
feeling a lot more confident, but still no win for Canterbury. Get some food; I don't think we'll do much tonight I was very nervous today, I kept asking questions because I didn't wanna screw up I like to be the guy that gets it all right.
I think I played alright, which was cool yeah, I'm really tired after it though. He has another round of games tomorrow The energy level was low after the game,
I had the adrenaline pushing me through, and that's usually what it does,
I push myself to the limit [Music] - Yeah, we slept in, and we're running ten minutes
late already, we gotta get out of here cause we've got a game in about an hour,
we had our alarm set for quarter to six, so I can be ready by 7 and be packed and everything,
but oh well, I got up at 7 [Music] Day 2, another chance to impress
the wheelblacks selectors [Music] Just, those basic things what we did the last game?
Just go for that screen for me I'll come to you, you can help me out,
you can help me take off, just like we did last game - Wheel Blacks squads are up and running,<br> and they'll be looking for new talent and I believe that you should be<br>getting looked at really closely - That'll be good Cody's got a real challenge
today, he's marking number 8, Barney Koneferenisi, New Zealand's top player. Cody can't match the pace of his opponent in time, he'll learn tactics to
compensate for his lack of function [Music] [Whistle] Auckland dominated, but the
Canterbury boys came much closer than anyone expected.
Cody's definitely caught the eye of the selectors. - Every game I learn more, and I
think I get better and better - Canterbury! [cheer] - Just trying my best, and if I don't think I've done well,
I talk to the other guys, but I think I've done pretty well. The real thing that makes me feel really good,
and certainly him, is getting really positive feedback from the other players,
other experienced players that are really noticing you. In the wheelchair rugby circles, the world's your oyster - I wanna work on my skills, my fitness,
and whatever I can do to make it to the top and be the best I can be. These first two years post-accident
have moulded a completely different Cody - As the days go by, and after this
year's been I have improved a lot Cody's acceptance of his new
life is key to his future - I wanna be one of the best in New Zealand,
and if not, the world, that's something that I really wanna be known for.
