Former Wales international Lenny Woodard revealed his son inadvertently found out his father had dementia after overhearing his parents’ conversation.
The rugby player said his nine-year-old son was listening to a conversation he was having with his wife in the other room. Woodard is concerned he may not be able to recognise his children as soon as in five years time just 12 months after his heartbreaking diagnosis.
“Myself and my partner were talking in the next room, my kids were playing in the room,” Woodward told the BBC. “My partner was explaining, ‘I want the kids to see you as much as possible, as often as possible and do as many memorable things as possible because there’s a chance in 10 years, 15 years time, you’re not even going to know who they are.’
“And my little boy, Leo, who was nine yesterday, heard it in the next room, he’d been listening to the conversation. He burst into tears, ran into the room, hugged me and would not let go of me for a few minutes.”
In the interview, Woodard warned of how quickly dementia can take hold after suggesting his thought processes are already declining since he was diagnosed a year ago. He continued: “I often forget journeys at crucial stages within it, repeat myself in conversations, repeat myself about half-an-hour, an hour later, forget conversations things I’ve done in the past completely now. Whereas five years ago, 10 years ago, I had what I would class as a perfect recollection of things and it’s deteriorating.
“Ultimately, us as rugby players, we expected aches and pains as we got through our later lives, we certainly didn’t sign up to dementia 30 years earlier than we thought we were going to get from these concussions. It’s making sure that the lessons are learned, we take things forward and it’s safer for the future generation, head injury protocols are abided by and make sure to be as safe as possible.
“Player safety is paramount in all of this. Let’s make the future better and learn from the lessons of the past.”
The rugby world was rattled recently when ex-Wales captain Ryan Jones revealed he had been diagnosed with early onset dementia. Jones was told he had a severe case of probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in December 2021.
As a result, Jones has joined a legal action, led by figures including England World Cup winner Steve Thompson and former Wales international Alix Popham, against rugby union's governing bodies. In total, lawyers for 180 former rugby players have issued formal proceedings against World Rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union and Rugby Football Union.
Other former players such as ex-England hooker Thompson, Dan Scarbrough, Carl Hayman, Neil Clark, Jason Hobson, Lenny Woodard, Neil Spence and Michael Lipman have all come forward. The former pros contend the named authorities were negligent in failing to take reasonable action to protect them from permanent injury caused by repetitive concussive and sub-concussive blows.
Rylands Legal represents over 185 rugby union players with brain damage, as well as 75 players in rugby league as part of a separate potential claim. Those 185 players, professional and semi-professional, are moving ahead with their legal action this week.
