Thomson star Jahd Anderson says he has lost his independence and has been advised to quit footy following grand final concussion
A Geelong local footy star may never play again after losing his independence to delayed concussion following a brutal bump in the opening minute of the 2023 grand final.
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Thomson star Jahd Anderson lost far more than a shot at a GDFL premiership after he was stretchered off the ground following a brutal opening minute bump from an Inverleigh rival back in September.
He’s since lost his independence.
And the reality is, the 30-year-old may never play football again.
Nearly two months after that heavy hit from Hawks opponent Ryan Robertson on September 16 at St Albans Reserve, the father of one still can’t go to public places like shopping centres, for fear of triggering concussion symptoms.
He also has constant headaches and his temper is regularly tested by the daily physical and mental challenges which have become his new norm.
As part of his slow recovery, he can only manage two 15-minute walks a day.
However, he must be cautious, as increased light-headedness and dizziness can put him back on the couch for a “prolonged rest”.
“I am still getting impatient and frustrated more than ever before the incident,” Anderson said.
“I’m still unable to drive after a full six weeks and haven’t been able to work.
“I’ve been advised strongly to consider if it’s worth continuing to play football.”
A career cut short at such an early age is obviously devastating.
However, perhaps the worst aspect of the past few weeks has been his reliance on others to get by, and inability to return to his full time job at Powercor.
“I’ve lost my independence because of this,” he said.
“It’s had a financial impact on me and my family, and put a strain on my partner (Emily) who has had to continue to work but who I’ve also relied on heavily to drive me to appointments while also being a parent to our two-year-old son (Obi).”
Fortunately, Powercor have been very understanding of his situation and have plotted his return to work.
“I’ve been very lucky as they have been able to look after me financially to an extent, as the football club’s insurance is unable to cover income loss,” he said.
Nearly two months on, Anderson still has no memory of the game, or the full 24 hours of that day.
“I don’t have any memory of the grand final day at all let alone the incident,” Anderson said. “My last memory was from ordering dinner Friday night.”
In the opening seconds, the GDFL team of the year player was knocked flat by Robertson, which would later result in a four-game ban.
Anderson said his memories of the days after the game, which Thomson lost by 63 points, remained “pretty dull and still a blur”.
“I was in hospital overnight and discharged Sunday morning where I finally realised where I was and got told what had happened,” he said.
“I was stuck in bed for the majority of the first week and a half after the incident, only occasionally getting up to see visitors.”
His memory was also faltering.
“While also struggling to remember short term events and visits; I was struggling to remember who had visited and trying to remember the days that had gone past,” he said.
Anderson, who had received “small knocks” in the past but nothing to this extent, admits he “wasn’t myself” during this time.
“I was getting aggressive and had a short temper and still trying to manage this six weeks later after the initial incident,” he said.
Fortunately, Anderson has been told by friends and family that he has regained some colour back in his face and is slowly more like his old self.
“I’m also personally just starting to feel like myself again,” he said.
“I do have constant headaches still and unable to put myself in situations where there is a lot of noise and too much going on.”
Anderson has received plenty of treatment and support at the McKellar Centre’s concussion clinic.
“I was told early on that the recovery process may take some time, which unfortunately it has,” he said.
“Just to take it easy and not to try and push myself too much yet as it can and has set me back and brought on symptoms.”
Anderson has a message for his teammates and rivals: be aware and educated on the ramifications of concussion.
“Concussion is probably something that all players take for granted that I myself was probably guilty of, I never thought that a concussion would have the consequences to be able to affect an individual and the people around me like it has,” he said.
“It’s scary that I can’t recall anything at all from that day of the incident, and I’m thankful that my injuries weren’t much worse.
“Day to day it’s hard as there are no physical signs of an injury like crutches or a cast to indicate what someone is going through or dealing with.
“But definitely something that needs to be taken more seriously at a local football level.”
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