{"id":273043,"date":"2026-02-08T00:29:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T00:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/273043\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T00:29:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T00:29:24","slug":"gore-teen-tackles-brain-injury-with-positivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/273043\/","title":{"rendered":"Gore teen tackles brain injury with positivity"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Jayden Broome returned home to Gore two weeks ago after a four-month hospital stay.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Jayden Broome loved playing rugby as the underdog.<\/p>\n

Whether it be people suggesting he was too small or that he would never make it from a small rugby school in Gore. Broome lapped up the opportunity to prove people wrong.<\/p>\n

That attitude was evident in 2024 when he was named in the New Zealand M\u0101ori U18 team, which upset the New Zealand Secondary Schools team.<\/p>\n

His footy challenges were nothing compared to what life has thrown up for him during the past four months, but the 19-year-old has continued to relish that desire to beat the odds. <\/p>\n

At just after 10pm on September 8, Broome\u2019s life changed dramatically.<\/p>\n

Broome had gone onto a two-storey roof at a student flat on the corner of Dundas St and Castle St in Dunedin to take a photo.<\/p>\n

He slipped and fell, hitting the footpath below.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy memory of that night is pretty bad. I don\u2019t remember anything of that night. Probably because I was drinking, and it was a brain injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just asked people around me that were there what happened. But my memory from beforehand is all good; sometimes I need a reminder, but I remember,\u201d Broome told The Tribune.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The student flat on the corner of Dundas St and Castle St where Jayden Broome fell.<\/p>\n

Broome suffered a significant brain injury. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to mention he broke his pelvis, broke both his shoulder blades, and ruptured his spleen and liver.<\/p>\n

The pelvis, shoulder blades, spleen, and liver, and other injuries, went a long way to healing as he lay in a coma in the hospital.<\/p>\n

The brain injury, as expected, has proved to be a bigger recovery, and the proud Gore lad has tackled it with remarkable positivity.<\/p>\n

He knows the outcome of that September 8 fall could have been even worse.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat has definitely played in my head, the fact that I could have died\u2026 [But] I\u2019m alive, I\u2019m here, and I\u2019m on the improve now.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say there haven\u2019t been dark and difficult moments during his recovery journey.<\/p>\n

It includes the challenges of speaking during his four months in the hospital. <\/p>\n

\u201cMentally, to be fair, in the first month or so when I couldn\u2019t talk, I was quite depressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople would come and visit, and I couldn\u2019t talk. I could function in my head, and I wanted to say stuff, but I couldn\u2019t butt into a conversation on me. I couldn\u2019t add my point of view, because I couldn\u2019t talk.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone knew I was trying to talk, but I couldn\u2019t get the words out. That was quite hard.\u201d <\/p>\n

After a period of not being able to speak, a tracheostomy valve was inserted in his neck to assist him with communicating. It was in place for about three months. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was quite emotional when that came out because that was part of my life for three months.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter that, I could talk, no problems. So, probably after about three and a half months, I could start talking on my own. It\u2019s a long time without talking.\u201d<\/p>\n

On top of that, for 115 days, Broome also wasn\u2019t able to eat.<\/p>\n

He was fed through an NG tube, which went through his nose and directly to his stomach. <\/p>\n

Broome couldn\u2019t taste anything.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s now on a soft food diet with the hope that an x-ray of his swallow in a few weeks will prove he can start eating some of the foods he has been craving.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love Chinese mate,\u201d Broome says about what\u2019s on top of the wish list.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Jayden Broome during his four-month hospital stay.<\/p>\n

For a teenager who has been so active and had somewhat of an addiction to training, the frustration of what he cannot do is probably felt more than others might. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t do what I used to do, go to the public gym and have a run around. I can\u2019t do that, I\u2019m pretty room-bound at the moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve just got into a habit at the moment of sitting outside and getting a bit of sun,\u201d Broome says.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy balance isn\u2019t 100%. The part of the brain affected was my coordination. It is still alright, but I have the odd wobble. I can still walk, but I wobble a bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day it is improving, which is good. I\u2019m pretty cautious. I\u2019ve only fallen over twice in my four months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Broome says the most difficult conversation he\u2019s had to have with himself during the past four months was coming to the realisation he will never play rugby again.<\/p>\n

The 19-year-old has been part of Rugby Southland\u2019s academy and had some lofty goals. <\/p>\n

He had a massive 2025 club season for his University club in Dunedin, and a month or so before the fall had played a preseason game for the Southland Stags.<\/p>\n

The night of the fall, he had just returned from Christchurch after captaining the Southland Under-19 team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to play rugby anymore. To be fair, for three months when I was in hospital, I was saying I\u2019m going to come back. I\u2019m going to be the guy who went through a brain injury and came back,\u201d Broome says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when I sat down and thought about it, I thought, is it worth it? The worst thing that could happen is that I could die on the field from a head knock; it is not really worth it. I want to be Dad and Grandad, and travel around one day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a hard conversation to have with myself. I definitely did cry. The nurses and my mum thought it must be quite big if I\u2019m crying about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor [mum] to hear those words that I was not going to play again, it was quite emotional for her too, she knows how much rugby means to me. For me to say those words was quite big for her.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he\u2019s acknowledged he won\u2019t play again, Broome expects rugby will remain a big part of his life.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, he went along to an Eastern-Northern Barbarians training in Gore and spent some time watching on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019m giving up on rugby; I still love it. I\u2019ll still be involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to coach, just not yet. I don\u2019t want to be a 19-year-old coach, I want to travel first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Jayden Broome playing for the Southland Stags in an NPC preseason game in July, 2025. Photo: DEBBIE FAHEY<\/p>\n

The other poignant moment to date for Broome was when he was told he was able to leave the hospital in Dunedin and return home to Gore.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s been back in Gore, living with his mum Toni Dunn, for two weeks now.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably about a week before I came home, they said to me, \u2018Jayden, you are off home next Wednesday\u2019. It was quite emotional\u2026 It\u2019s been four months of my life, and my life\u2019s changed. It was emotional, the drive home [to Gore] was a bit emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n

Broome is positive about his future.<\/p>\n

He has plans to start public speaking at some point, and podcasting, sharing his personal story along the way.<\/p>\n

For Broome, having a positive outlook is important for his recovery.<\/p>\n

He says he\u2019s seeing improvement in himself daily, and that is what he is focusing on.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were so many patients around me that I could feel they weren\u2019t happy, and it is understandable, your life has changed dramatically. It can be quite depressing for people.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the more positive you are – I heard this from the nurses – the quicker you\u2019ll be able to get out of hospital. That was me, for the 115 days [in hospital] I couldn\u2019t eat, and I was still positive for those 115 days,\u201d Broome says.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone came into the hospital in Dunedin, and they had a daughter that had a brain injury. They said she is working now and doing what they used to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was encouraging that I will come right eventually. I will come back to normal\u2026 Originally, they said Jayden might be 75% of the same person; now it\u2019s changed to he will be back, he\u2019ll be fully back.\u201d<\/p>\n

While watching the movie Night of the Museum this week, there was a quote during that movie that Broome has latched onto and now attached to his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing is impossible. If it can be dreamed, it can be done,\u201d is the quote.<\/p>\n

Broome says the support he has had from a long list of people has played a significant role in helping him with that positive outlook.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was in rehab, some of the nurses said to me I was the most popular room. People were coming in left, right, and centre. I love seeing people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt meant a lot for everyone to come and see me. I can imagine it was pretty hard for them, because I was in a state and them having to see me like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Included amongst the regular visitors was former Rugby Southland academy manager Scott Eade, who is now the Stags coach.<\/p>\n

The pair had developed a strong bond before Broome\u2019s fall, as he progressed from Gore to New Zealand M\u0101ori Under-18 representative.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a lot of people that come and saw me. Scott Eade was one of them; he saw me four or five times, it meant a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

The day before Stags players Sean Withy and Jack Taylor flew out to Europe with the All Blacks XV in November, they also visited Broome in hospital.<\/p>\n

That was a boost for Broome.<\/p>\n

Highlanders player Will Stodart also visited with the Ranfurly Shield after Otago\u2019s victory last year. Southland had won the Shield earlier in the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t talk, but it was unreal to get to see the Southland names on there.\u201d<\/p>\n

His University Rugby Club in Dunedin has also been very supportive. Aaron Withy – a community development officer at the club – was one of those who made multiple visits, along with others from his club.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey dropped off my jersey I played in, the No 7 jersey. They put it in a frame, and it is on my wall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Jayden Broome playing for the University Rugby Club in Dunedin in 2025.<\/p>\n

The list of visitors continues, whether it be teachers from his days at Gore High School, or those from Te Rangihiroa College, his student hall that he was staying in during his first year studying in Dunedin. <\/p>\n

He is grateful for all of the support he has had, as well as the backing his family has received.<\/p>\n

Broome says when it became obvious his mum Toni was going to be away from work for months to help in his recovery, her employers at Waitane assured her that her job would still be there when she returned.<\/p>\n

When Broome spent time in Christchurch following the fall, his father, Darren, was there with him fulltime. Broome says his Dad\u2019s employers at Eastern Concrete let him go without hesitation.<\/p>\n

Gore, Southland, and New Zealand can be proud and inspired by the fight and positivity Broome has shown in his recovery. <\/p>\n

A similar trait we saw from him on the sporting field.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jayden Broome returned home to Gore two weeks ago after a four-month hospital stay. Jayden Broome loved playing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273044,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[134,527,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-273043","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-healthcare","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}