Scotland fan Ethan Walker cycles to Munich after incredible health recovery
A small team of Tartan Army foot-soldiers have decided to cycle to Euro24 in Munich to help Scotland-daft, young footballer, Ethan Walker realise his dream.
Ethan Walker might just be the most committed Scotland fan there is. He's preparing to cycle 1200km to watch his heroes only eight months after a serious accident where he sustained multiple injuries.
(Ethan Walker)
In September 2023 the footballer, who left local side Huntly FC aged 17 to attend a football scholarship in the U.S. was hit by a car in New York state.
Tragically he sustained life threatening injuries including multiple fractures, two brain haemorrhages and the complete dislocation of his right knee. The fractured bones included his skull, shoulder, hand, pelvis and knee. On discharge from intensive care Ethan was still unable to swallow and required months of tube feeding.
The assault to his knee was huge - all his knee ligaments and cartilage were torn, the equivalent of 5 ACL injuries.
Ethan's mum, who was at home in Scotland when the incident happened, was notified and within a day she was by her son's side in hospital.
After six weeks in intensive care Ethan travelled back to Scotland where he met top orthopaedic surgeon Professor Gordon Mackay of the Mackay Clinic.
A small team of Tartan Army foot-soldiers have decided to cycle to Euro24 in Munich to help Scotland-daft, young footballer, Ethan Walker realise his dream.
Ethan Walker might just be the most committed Scotland fan there is. He's preparing to cycle 1200km to watch his heroes only eight months after a serious accident where he sustained multiple injuries.
(Ethan Walker)
In September 2023 the footballer, who left local side Huntly FC aged 17 to attend a football scholarship in the U.S. was hit by a car in New York state.
Tragically he sustained life threatening injuries including multiple fractures, two brain haemorrhages and the complete dislocation of his right knee. The fractured bones included his skull, shoulder, hand, pelvis and knee. On discharge from intensive care Ethan was still unable to swallow and required months of tube feeding.
The assault to his knee was huge - all his knee ligaments and cartilage were torn, the equivalent of 5 ACL injuries.
Ethan's mum, who was at home in Scotland when the incident happened, was notified and within a day she was by her son's side in hospital.
After six weeks in intensive care Ethan travelled back to Scotland where he met top orthopaedic surgeon Professor Gordon Mackay of the Mackay Clinic.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 You see it?
00:10 You're aiming to go?
00:11 Yes, I am.
00:12 Because you've got the match pen.
00:13 Oh, wow.
00:14 The robots are going to be exchanging.
00:17 So this needs to be the Allianz Arena by 1 o'clock that day.
00:20 [APPLAUSE]
00:23 I'm Ethan Walker.
00:27 I'm 18.
00:28 So I was playing for Huntley under 18s.
00:31 I was the captain.
00:32 I got offered a scholarship over in America.
00:35 So I went over to America to fulfill my dreams.
00:39 And one night, I was walking back to my dorm,
00:42 and I got hit by a car.
00:43 And all of a sudden, my dreams were all over.
00:46 Professor Gordon Mackay.
00:47 I am an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in sports surgery.
00:51 And it's my pleasure to have looked after young Ethan
00:55 Walker.
00:55 What a remarkable man.
00:56 It's such a moving story.
00:58 It's something that anyone can relate to, any parent.
01:01 You've got a young boy, 17, aspiring professional
01:04 footballer.
01:04 He's got the dream that so many share.
01:06 Gets a chance to go to New York to be based in a college there.
01:11 And then suddenly, it all stops.
01:13 A tragic accident.
01:14 He steps out on the road very simply, like so many would do.
01:16 Looks the wrong way.
01:18 Hit by a car almost 60 miles an hour.
01:20 The twist in the story, tragically,
01:22 is his mother's called out not to support him,
01:25 but actually for palliation.
01:26 They're not sure he's going to survive.
01:28 One of the doctors said something along the lines
01:31 of he didn't think that Ethan would make it.
01:33 And my response to that was, you don't know him.
01:36 You know he's an absolute fighter.
01:37 And you know he's got the drive and the will and determination.
01:41 Just under six weeks in intensive care
01:44 over at Buffalo County General.
01:45 In intensive care, fighting for his life
01:47 and wrestling with a whole variety of injuries.
01:50 These include skull fracture, scapula fracture,
01:53 pelvic fracture, tibial fracture.
01:56 A complete knee dislocation.
01:58 But most importantly, a brain hemorrhage.
02:00 When I came home, I had to get my dysphagia sorted,
02:03 learn how to swallow and speak again.
02:06 And I really got involved when he eventually
02:08 was safe enough to travel back to Scotland.
02:10 He came to see me just over six weeks after the initial injury.
02:15 He still had a feeding tube in.
02:16 He couldn't swallow.
02:17 He looked at a sorry, sorry sight.
02:19 And his mom was understandably distressed.
02:21 So that's when the journey started, really.
02:23 Because we said, look, I'll help you any way we can.
02:27 But what we can help you with is we
02:28 can use new technology, this internal bracing technology,
02:32 to at least get you walking again,
02:33 stabilize that knee because it was just kind of flapping
02:36 like a garden gate.
02:37 This cycle wouldn't be possible without the internal bracing
02:40 technique.
02:41 So I'm very thankful for that.
02:43 So I got surgery from him in December.
02:46 And it's just been rehab ever since.
02:49 And ever since then, he's been the most positive, inspiring
02:53 patient I've ever looked after.
02:56 But he came back after 12 weeks after surgery.
02:58 I said, Ethan, how are things progressing?
03:00 And he looked great.
03:01 And he said, I'm jogging.
03:02 And I said, don't be ridiculous.
03:04 Normally, after a knee dislocation,
03:06 that's when you might even lose your limb.
03:08 It would take multiple operations over maybe two years
03:11 to get mobile again.
03:12 He said, show me.
03:13 So he started to jog in the spot.
03:15 And the next question was the really awkward one.
03:17 He said, Prof, when can I play football again?
03:20 So I said, we're both football fans.
03:22 What about the idea of cycling from Hamden all the way
03:25 to Munich to support Scotland?
03:27 Well, he asked me four weeks after my surgery.
03:30 And I'm like, no way will I manage this.
03:33 And then after, well, maybe eight weeks, I'm like, oh,
03:38 I can definitely manage this.
03:40 He was keen.
03:40 Straight away, I saw the anxiety in his mother's eyes.
03:43 And it wasn't until I got home and my own wife said to me,
03:46 are you crazy?
03:47 The boy got hit by a car.
03:48 And you want to cycle on the roads to Germany?
03:52 And I said, oh, I didn't think about that.
03:54 It was an impulse moment.
03:55 I was trying to give him something
03:56 that he could stay positive about and motivate him
03:59 through his recovery.
04:00 He's in the best hands.
04:02 The guys that are with him will look after him and keep him
04:06 right, hopefully not lead him astray too much, or vice versa.
04:10 The operation that Professor McKay did for Ethan
04:12 was outstanding and has really given him the opportunity
04:17 to go on and really keep that hope alive that he'll
04:21 play football again.
04:22 And then obviously, this challenge is cycling to Munich
04:26 is off the charts.
04:28 Discussed it with his family and said, look,
04:30 they're all on board.
04:31 They realized how important football is to Ethan.
04:34 It's his life.
04:35 And this opportunity to support Scotland
04:38 was one they couldn't miss.
04:39 Do you guys have tickets?
04:40 Oh, that's the other thing.
04:42 And this is even more inspiring.
04:44 Ethan was prepared to do this without a ticket, basically,
04:48 just to be there to support Scotland.
04:50 And I think we can't ask any more of him.
04:52 We're hopeful that we will be able to arrange something
04:56 behind the scenes.
04:58 But at the moment, that is uncertain.
05:00 But it's not going to deter us.
05:02 We're still going all the way to Germany.
05:03 It's helped me focus on a goal and get there in one piece
05:08 and not be too sore.
05:09 So hopefully, I'll be fine.
05:11 I mean, what does football mean to you?
05:13 It's like my pride and joy football.
05:15 I love every bit of it.
05:16 It's just my happiness now.
05:19 And were you a Tartan Army foot soldier?
05:21 No, I was not.
05:23 But I might be now, so.
05:26 [MUSIC PLAYING]
05:29 [Music]