Edinburgh dad paralysed in horror ski accident describes moment he thought it was 'game over'

An Edinburgh Dad has described how he thought it was “game over” after he was left paralysed in freak ski accident - until an unlikely hobby helped him get his life back on track.

Stewart Mackay, a former Scotland Under-18 rugby international, feared his life was over after devastating skiing crash in Austria in March 2019.

The now 60-year-old was paralysed from the chest down and suffered injuries so severe he believed he would never walk or exercise again.

The dad-of-three, who grew up in Longniddry, said: “In hospital immediately after the crash, I naively told my skiing buddies I’d be back on the slopes in a few days – I was unaware at how serious it was.

Stewart Mackay was paralysed during a ski holiday in Austria in 2019 | Supplied

“That all changed as soon as I saw the X Rays. I looked at them and thought, 'game over.’”

"My back had broken at almost 90 degrees – it was horrendous. I genuinely thought I'd never have any sort of life again."

He then spent almost six months in rehabilitation at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

Days that had once been built around rugby, golf, skiing and travel became dominated by rehabilitation, planning and learning how to navigate everyday life in a wheelchair.

Simple jobs like making the bed, washing the car or working in the garden suddenly felt impossible.

"You can't just decide to jump in the car and disappear for the weekend any more," he said. "Everything has to be planned. It changed everything.”

Although he praises the treatment he received in Austria and later in Glasgow, Mr Mackay says leaving hospital proved one of the hardest parts of his recovery.

"In hospital you're looked after incredibly well," he explained, ‘but when you come out you're suddenly on your own. That's when the real rehabilitation begins."

"I've always been competitive. I don't really lose at anything, and I was determined that this injury – devastating though it is – was not going to stop me enjoying my life."

He began to try different activities, including wheelchair curling, and also returned to the golf course, where he was a former scratch player.

He now plays regularly despite having to relearn his swing one-handed, and still plays to an 18 handicap.

But it was another sport altogether that unexpectedly became central to his recovery – the card game bridge.

Stewart McKay says playing bridge has helped him get his life back on track after his injury | Scottish Bridge

Before the accident, Mr Mackay and his wife Clare had played casually with friends around the kitchen table, buying books in an attempt to improve, and developing a healthy rivalry.

But after the accident, while Mackay was still in hospital, a group of friends travelled through to Glasgow carrying pizzas and a pack of cards – and his interest in the game developed further.

“They’d travel through in threes, and we'd sit and play bridge," he said. "It gave me something completely normal to look forward to, and as well as the game, it was about spending quality time with my pals.

“They were better players, however, and I knew I had to try and change that.”

Mr Mackay threw himself into lessons, joined bridge clubs, began practising online every day and started playing several times a week.

Today he spends around half an hour every day studying the game, as well as playing 4-5 hours per week with Clare and friends, and has even begun taking bridge holidays.

He believes the game has provided exactly the challenge he had been missing, and appealed to the same competitive instinct that had driven him in business and sport.

He said: "Would you go skiing without lessons? So why would you play bridge without them? Golf eventually levels out, tennis levels out, but bridge never does – you can always improve, you can always get better.”

Although he jokes that he has finally caught up with Clare's standard, Mr Mackay says the game has become about much more than winning.

It has introduced him to a new community, created lasting friendships and given him another reason to keep learning.

He laughed: "Ten years ago, if you'd told me I'd be playing bridge twice a week, I'd have laughed. Now I absolutely love it.

"It's incredibly social, you meet brilliant people, you're constantly learning and you never stop improving. I only wish I'd started years earlier.

“If I'd started playing bridge when I was 30, I'd probably be playing for Scotland."

Looking back, Mr Mackay admits there are still moments when he misses the life he once had, but he refuses to dwell on what he has lost.

He added: "If you spend your life moaning about what's happened, you never move forward.

"I can't walk, and that's frustrating, but that's life, but you adapt, and then you find something else that makes you excited to get up in the morning."