Former NSW rugby player turns adversity into force for change after being told he may never move again

A former NSW rugby player who was told he may never move below his neck again is using the injury that changed his life to help find a cute for paralysis.

Alex Noble was just 16 when a devastating training accident left him with a severe spinal cord injury and C4 quadriplegia.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Alex Noble’s journey from quadriplegia to advocacy

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Now, seven years later, the 23-year-old is a bestselling author, motivational speaker, university graduate and businessman — and has just taken on a formal ambassador role with SpinalCure Australia.

Noble was playing for New South Wales Rugby Sevens when he was tackled badly during a training session and landed on his head, immediately losing movement throughout his body.

“I was flat on my back on the floor, paralysed throughout my whole body, unable to move a single thing,” Noble told The Morning Show on Wednesday.

He had broken his C4 vertebra and underwent spinal surgery before spending four days in a coma.

Doctors warned he might never regain movement below his neck.

When Noble woke, his first words to his brother Zach were “if I fight, you fight” — a pledge that would later inspire a movement reaching hundreds of thousands of people.

He spent nine and a half months in hospital, where he had to relearn how to live.

Alex Noble was just 16 when a devastating training accident left him with a severe spinal cord injury and C4 quadriplegia. Credit: The Morning Show

Since then, Noble has gone from learning to breathe again to standing while wearing a 20kg weighted vest, and even skydiving.

“I kind of saw my injury and everything that happened to me not as dirt but more like fertiliser for all of the growth that I did,” Noble said.

“Now I’m living a life that I never would have dreamed of living and all the things that I’ve accomplished, I never thought that I could ever do that prior to my injury.

“It shows that even when the worst things happen, you can still do great things.”

Noble is now drawing on his experience to encourage others facing adversity and help improve the future for people living with spinal cord injuries.

“My goal is to show people that even if it’s hard, even if it’s unfair, even if your life may be more challenging than others, you still always have the ability to become someone great, do great things and have an impact on the world,” he said.

In his new ambassador role with SpinalCure Australia he will support the organisation’s work raising money for research into treatments and a cure for spinal cord injury.

“There’s a lot of different research going on, and there are so many advancements lately, and they’re getting very close to a cure,” he said.

However, Noble said a lack of funding remained the biggest obstacle, with spinal cord injury research receiving less attention than many other conditions.

“We’re nearly there. It’s just that last little push and increased funding will get that push,” he said.

Noble has recently graduated from university with degrees in law and business and is set to become a lawyer in two months in addition to his role as ambassador.