Cody Ramsey is back where he belongs. Back after being told he would never play footy again. Back from endless surgeries. Back from a terrifying disease that no one can fully appreciate unless you hear it in his own words.<\/p>\n
\u201cUlcerative colitis is a large bowel disease and it targets your large intestine,\u201d Ramsey said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd when we found my diagnosis, it was pretty much burnt bread (dead) the whole bowel, so I had my whole large bowel removed and it left me with a stump that\u2019s connected to your bottom.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a stoma for six months and that\u2019s a bag. I had a stoma reversal, that\u2019s where they connect your small bowel to your large bowel and I guess it\u2019s gravity fed by food, so I had to reintroduce every food I\u2019ve ever eaten back into my new stomach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramsey was flying high in his third season at the Dragons in 2022 when his life changed forever.<\/p>\n
A disease that affects only one in 100 people struck him down, with the emerging talent losing 28 kilos in seven weeks as his life changed forever. <\/p>\n
He missed the entire 2023 and 2024 seasons but made an emotional comeback in reserve grade for the Red V last year, before the impossible became possible on Saturday night when he made his NRL return after a 1337-day absence. <\/p>\n
\u201c(This was) way better. This means a lot more,\u201d he replied when asked if this felt like a second debut. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe people around me and everyone at the club know what I\u2019ve been through, so it\u2019s definitely way better than the debut for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramsey wasn\u2019t meant to play on Saturday, but that\u2019s par for the course for someone who was told by his first surgeon that his rugby league was career was over.<\/p>\n
But a syndesmosis injury to Mark Nawaqanitawase saw him brought on in the first half against the Broncos, with the emotion of it all hitting home as tears flowed when he reunited with friends and family at full-time.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou kind of bring yourself back to when it first started and I guess being 62 kilos, and that was when it was the lowest of the low from then on,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI always said that I will get back to where I was. And I guess if you see a 62 kilo human being walking around saying he\u2019s going to go play NRL again, it\u2019s very easy not to believe him. But I did, and my family did. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut at the same time, my family said whatever you want to do, whatever avenue you want to take (we\u2019ll support you). And I could easily not have done it, but I\u2019ve got to live inside my own head for the rest of my life if I I didn\u2019t give it a go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramsey, 26, will never forget the moment he was told his career was over, but the cruel diagnosis wasn\u2019t going to stop him. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe (the surgeon) was like \u2018you\u2019re going to have to give up football\u2019 as he sat on the side of the bed,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then he left and I said to dad, \u2018he doesn\u2019t know what it takes to be an NRL player, but I do\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then I had two surgeries and it was honestly downhill from there.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe second surgeon, Jonathan Hong up at Chris O\u2019Brien Lifehouse, he said \u2018take it easy on the Tigers when you get back.\u2019
\u201cHe was the one doing my reversal (reattaching the small intestine). So he already had some belief that I was going to do it, and I was always going to try, but he kind of just instilled that. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe was the one cutting me open, doing the reversals, so it was like, if he thinks I\u2019m going to do it, it\u2019s only up to me. If I can get myself back and myself right and do the right things, then why can\u2019t I do it? Why shouldn\u2019t I do it?\u201d<\/p>\n
The reversals were as brutal as they sound, with Ramsey convincing himself early on that it was \u2018un-liveable\u201d as he was forced to go to the toilet 40 times a day. <\/p>\n
But a 4km run from his place to his dad\u2019s house convinced him he could get back, with Ramsey \u2013 stomach wound and all \u2013 running along the Appin Highway with his phone in his hand in case he had to call his partner for help. <\/p>\n
\u201cI remember one time my stomach was completely split open after I had a reversal, and I was in that much pain and I was telling them to put me in a coma,\u201d Ramsey said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018just put me to sleep because I don\u2019t want to (deal with this)\u2018 and that\u2019s kind of how it went.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then you get out, so I checked out of hospital, and I convinced my missus and I said \u2018I\u2019m just going to run to dad\u2019s house, and if I don\u2019t do it, I\u2019ll never make it back into football\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I remember running down the Appin Highway. I was 62 kilos, and it took me forever, and it nearly killed me, but once I did it, I was like, \u2018I can do it\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then honestly, this condition is all in your head. If you tick these little boxes off in your head (then you can do it).<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the whole year last year, I felt like I needed to go to the toilet every time I ran. And then I didn\u2019t. And I was like, \u2018what\u2019s the worst that\u2019s going to happen to me? I\u2019m going to shit my pants?\u2019 That\u2019s the worst. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then I didn\u2019t that one training session. And then I didn\u2019t that week. And then I didn\u2019t that month. And then I get into the game and I didn\u2019t do it. There\u2019s stuff in your head that tells you that you\u2019re not going to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramsey joked that the biggest difference from the initial diagnosis to Saturday night was that he was 10 kilos heavier, with emotions to run high for the next few days as the enormity of his achievement sinks in.<\/p>\n
The Roosters have played a part in his recent journey, with skipper James Tedesco thrilled to see his teammate back on the field and likely to get more opportunities with Nawaqanitawase out for 6-8 weeks. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s been an 18th man for us since the start of the year and just hearing his story and the journey he\u2019s been on, I think all of us are all just happy to see him get back on the field,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been a breath of fresh air coming into the club. His energy, just a great personality and great to have around the club. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been ready to play since round one and to see him out there back on the field playing first grade was a special moment for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n