St George Illawarra Dragons player Cody Ramsey has missed two NRL seasons due to a prolonged health battle with ulcerative colitis, a serious inflammatory bowel condition.
His struggle began in 2022 when he was hospitalised after experiencing intense stomach pain during a pre-season training run.
Initially weighing 90kg, Ramsey lost a drastic 28kg and underwent multiple surgeries to remove affected sections of his bowel.
During his recovery, Ramsey faced additional setbacks, including COVID-19 and a severe wound complication when staples from his initial surgery came undone, leaving a large opening in his abdomen that required further treatment.
Ramsey recently expressed confidence in his upcoming return to rugby league during an appearance on the A Lot To Talk About podcast.
"I was always confident that I'd be able to come back and play footy," Ramsey said.
After his first surgery, doctors told him he might never play again, a diagnosis that didn't sit well with the resilient winger.
"In that first surgery I was told I'd never play football again but I just laughed and said to my dad, 'I will'...There was a doubt in my head about it being possible but once another surgeon said once my stomach was sealed I'd be good to go, it wasn't in the back of my mind.
"I've still got a while to go but I believe I'll get more weight on over this pre-season faster because I know what to do now.
Ramsey has been focusing on his recovery during the off-season, working hard to rebuild his strength and physical condition.
He remains positive that he will be back on the field sooner than many expect, thanks to the lessons he's learned during the rehabilitation process.
"I believe the comeback will come earlier than what everyone expects.
"I'm going balls to the wall to come back and prove everyone who believes in me right."
Ramsey's commitment to his recovery is clear, and he's pushing himself to the limit in order to prove his doubters wrong.
Ramsey has played 36 NRL games for the Dragons since debuting in 2020, scoring 14 tries, with a standout 18-game season in 2021.
While the illness has sidelined his career, he remains focused on regaining his health, with his return to rugby league yet uncertain.
This article could have been written any time in the last three years. It tells us nothing new.
Cody’s NRL career finished three years ago when UC struck him down. He will be on drugs for the rest of his life to control it. If the medics can’t rebuild him a functional bowel, he’ll be relying on a colostomy bag. Even if they rebuild him a “sort-of-functional” bowel it will never be as good as before – drying out the s**t is hard when there isn’t the length of tube to remove all the liquid before it gets to the backside.
Taking 80 minutes of impacts and running is going to be messy – literally – even if it doesn’t create further physical damage.
(I have a family member with UC, so I know a bit about it).
I don’t know what he’s doing for money these days: he’s not in any squad I can find. If Saints have been paying him something after his contract ran out, then they deserve to be acknowledged for that. Maybe they have found him some back-room position. Again, kudos for them if they have done that.
I feel for him.
PS For those who are worried how he “caught” it, and what they have to do to avoid it. UC is not like Covid or Flu; it’s an immune-system condition. It’s not something you catch. It’s a genetic condition that is passed down through the female line (not the male line – so any kids of his will not inherit it from him).