Rugby Player Who Was Paralysed In A Match Fought Back To Ski, Complete A Marathon And Win The Woman Of His Dreams

When Matthew King was paralysed from the neck down after breaking his neck playing rugby (right) in his teens, the list of things he could not do seemed endless and insurmountable. He could not move, breathe without a ventilator or go anywhere unattended by his support workers. He had to be washed, dressed, fed and trussed up in a corset each morning to stop his back from crumpling. For three months he could not even speak. It seemed like things would never change but then Matt (left), 28, confounded everyone's expectations - even his own - and forged a new life rich in incident, achievement and purpose. Now, he speaks to the Daily Mail alongside his fiancée Ilona-Roza Kubica (pictured together centre).

Matt and Ilona met online in February 2013 and waited five months before their first date

You might imagine such an existence would be bleak, joyless and hopeless.

But you would be wrong. For Matt, now 28, confounded everyone’s expectations — even his own — and forged a new life rich in incident, achievement and purpose.

In the 11 years since he broke his neck on a rugby pitch during the first tackle of his first professional game, his accomplishments have been prodigious. He secured a university place and graduated with a first-class law degree, after which he qualified as a solicitor and gained a job with a top London law firm, specialising in personal injury claims.

His close-knit family — mother Glenda, a nurse, father Chris, a shop-fitter and two brothers Andrew and Michael (pictured) — supported and encouraged, but refused to cosset him

I want Ilona to be my best friend; lover, my wife and the mother of my children. I don’t want her to be my carer, so that’s why I’ll continue to have support,’ explains Matt. ‘My relationship with Ilona may not be entirely normal but I can’t foresee obstacles to having children, although our roles and responsibilities when we bring them up will be very 

different.’

Will Ilona feel constrained by Matt’s dependent, highly-structured life? Will Matt be frustrated by Ilona’s freedom to be impulsive? These are subjects they’ve discussed and resolved.

‘I’m fiercely independent,’ concedes Ilona, ‘And Matthew can’t be, but the only obstacle for me was the change in my mentality. I never had a schedule before, but I actually like the fact my life is more organised. I asked myself if I wanted to be with Matthew, and went for it with my heart and soul. I don’t feel constrained. We both agree it’s important he continues to pursue his interests, and he’s always let me be myself.’

They met online in February 2013 and waited five months before their first date. Matt made the initial approach to Ilona. ‘I have to admit it was her beauty that first attracted me,’ he says. She strokes his hand; he cannot, of course, reciprocate.

Ilona read Matt’s message. ‘He’d written an essay! He seemed to have the same values as me: family-loving, respectful, hard working; I didn’t really take in the rest, so to begin with I didn’t even realise he was paralysed.’