The sport I love damaged my brain
Alix Popham, a former top rugby player, is confronting what his doctors say are the devastating effects of thousands of bangs on the head.
From the time he started playing rugby at the age of four, Alix Popham and everyone around him knew he was destined for big things. He didn't disappoint, representing his country, Wales, more than thirty times during a long and successful career at the top of the game. When injury forced him into retirement in 2011, he became an entrepreneur and fell in love with an old schoolfriend, Mel, with whom he had a baby girl. But their bright future dimmed when Alix found out last year - at the age of 40 - that he has early-onset dementia, a condition his doctors blame on brain trauma suffered throughout his career. He now struggles to remember many of his finest moments on the pitch. The devastating diagnosis has rocked his family - and the sport they love. Alix and Mel spoke to Jo Fidgen.
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com
Picture: Alix Popham and Mel Bramwell-Popham
Credit: Alix Popham
Last on
More episodes
Broadcasts
- Mon 8 Mar 2021 12:06GMT主播大秀 World Service
- Mon 8 Mar 2021 18:06GMT主播大秀 World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Mon 8 Mar 2021 23:06GMT主播大秀 World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Tue 9 Mar 2021 03:06GMT主播大秀 World Service
Contact Outlook
Info on how we might use your contribution on air
Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary
Step into someone else鈥檚 life and expect the unexpected