LONDON, UK — As the national anthem echoed through Franklin’s Gardens, a mix of pride and emotion washed over England rugby flanker Abi Burton. Just three years after emerging from a life-threatening coma, the 25-year-old was making her Rugby World Cup debut—a victory far more significant than any score on the field.
“When we were singing the anthem, my eyes started to fill up and I was like ‘stop it, stop it’,” she said, as she told BBC Sport.
The Fight for a Diagnosis
The ordeal began a few months after Burton’s return from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Doctors initially attributed her lack of energy and behavioral changes to a serious knee injury and depression. But her condition rapidly deteriorated. After suffering a seizure, her behavior became erratic and manic, leading her family to fear for her safety and eventually place her in a psychiatric ward.
After multiple tests for conditions like schizophrenia yielded no answers, a specialist had a breakthrough hunch. A blood test confirmed she was suffering from autoimmune encephalitis, a rare condition where the body’s immune system attacks the brain.
With Burton too agitated to treat, her family made the difficult decision to place her in a medically-induced coma. What was meant to be a three-day procedure stretched into nearly four weeks, with doctors warning she might wake up with brain damage—or not at all.
A Long Road to Recovery
When Burton finally awoke, her body had to relearn the most basic functions. She had lost the ability to walk, talk, read, or write, and had dropped more than three stone.
“They took me to the stairs to try and walk up the stairs and I just collapsed beneath myself,” Burton told BBC Sport. “I couldn’t understand why my body couldn’t do something so basic. That’s when I realised it might be a bit longer of a road to recovery than I initially thought.”
A Triumphant Return
After a year of intensive rehabilitation, Burton’s perseverance paid off. In 2023, she signed with Premiership Women’s Rugby side Trailfinders Women and made the Great Britain Sevens team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. She was later called into the England squad for this year’s Six Nations, where she scored two tries on her debut against Wales.
For Burton, her debut in the 92-3 win over Samoa was about more than just a match. “I saw my grandparents, mum and dad, my brother in the crowd during the anthems,” she remembered. “It was just super, super special. They went through hell and back… and the fact that we get to come out the end of it and mum and dad can see that I’m thriving… we just want to experience those family moments together.”
Discussion about this post