Premier League legend left paralysed by uncommon situation is studying to stroll once more
Former Premier League referee Uriah Rennie opened up on his health battle after being diagnosed with a rare neurological condition that has forced him to learn to walk all over again
Premier League refereeing legend Uriah Rennie has opened up on his struggle with a rare neurological condition.
After a diagnosis and an extended hospital stint, the 65-year-old ex-official is learning to walk again.
Rennie, who took charge of hundreds of top-flight and Champions League matches between 1997 and 2008, was once hailed as the fittest referee in the Premier League but has been using a wheelchair for mobility while he “retrains” his legs.
He can stand with the aid of a frame attached to the chair and has been working on various exercises to strengthen his glutes and other areas.
The former referee suffered a pain in his back on a recent holiday in Turkey. Rennie ended up spending several months in hospital after doctors finally got to the bottom of the issue, and has begun his long road to recovery.
“I thought I had just slept funny on a sun lounger, I was hoping to go paragliding but because of my backache I couldn’t go,” Rennie told The BBC.
“By the end of the holiday I couldn’t sleep a wink from the pain, and by the time I got home I could barely walk.”
He added: “I spent a month laid on my back and another four months sitting in bed.
“They kept me in hospital until February, they found a nodule pushing on my spine and it was a rare neurological condition so it’s not something they can operate on.”
The ex-referee is poised to start a new role as a university chancellor at Sheffield Hallam University, a position he was close to starting before his hospital admission.
He continued to open up on the support he’s received from his family and hospital staff, and outlined his next target towards walking again.
“I’m aiming to be the best I can physically,” he asserted. “No one has told me I won’t walk again, but even if someone did say that I want to be able to say I did everything I could to try.
“Lots of people are in wheelchairs, but it doesn’t define them. It has made me resilient and forceful and I will never give up – I’m not on my own, there is a village helping me.
“I recognise how brittle things are in life now. I don’t know if I am going to walk fully, but I know what I need to do to try and you must never give up hope.”
