Over £10,000 has been raised in just 24 hours for Ryde Ice Hockey player Aidan Doughty, who sadly broke his back playing for Basingstoke Bison on Saturday (14th January).
27-year-old Aidan was injured in a match against Telford Tigers in which he had a catastrophic collision with the boards surrounding the rink.
‘Doughts’, as Aidan is known by his teammates, has now had emergency surgery on his broken back and is hopefully on the road to recovery. However, the self-employed electrician and ice hockey player is unlikely to be able to work for some time following his accident.
Former Sandown Bay Academy student Aidan has been playing ice hockey since his teenage years, starting with the Wightlink Raiders in Ryde before playing for Colorado Roughriders in the United States and Bracknell Bees back in the UK. He joined Basingstoke Bison in 2020.
Teammates Brendan Baird and George Norcliffe set up a GoFundMe page for ‘Doughts’ to help him financially until he is fit enough to take up gainful employment again.
Brendan has written on ‘Doughts’ GoFundMe page:
“‘Doughts’ as we call him unfortunately suffered a serious injury whilst playing against the Telford Tigers on Saturday 14th January.
“Doughts took an awkward hit into the boards on Saturday night and has subsequently suffered a broken back. He has a long road of recovery time ahead of him to get himself back on his feet.
Article continues below this advertisement “In typical Doughts fashion, he is in good spirits, making jokes and remaining positive. However, as a self-employed electrician, there will be no income for the foreseeable future.
“We are very aware that this is a difficult time to ask anyone to dig into their pockets. However, with the cost of living as it is and the prospect of not working for some time, we have created a GoFundMe page for Doughts, in the hope of taking the pressure off slightly.
“For anyone who does know him personally, you would know he would be mortified to know we have set this up. But he would be the first person to donate for someone else.
“We are asking for any donation possible, big or small – it would be incredibly appreciated. It will go a long way to give Doughts some peace of mind whilst focusing on his recovery.
“We will do anything we can to support Doughts. We are desperate to have him back on the ice with us as soon as possible, and we wish him all the best with his upcoming surgery and recovery.”
Aidan’s father Geoff has said in response to the GoFundMe page:
“On behalf of myself and Aidan’s family, I would like to offer my utmost thanks to the whole hockey community, who have sent their best wishes and blessings to Aidan since his injury occurred on Saturday.
“As you can all imagine, the last few days have been unbelievably stressful and worrying for us all. Thankfully, Aidan had a successful operation to repair his broken back and is already on the road to recovery.
“The Response to the GoFundMe page set up by Brendan Baird and George Norcliffe has left me lost for words. I cannot thank you all individually but would like to say that I am truly indebted to each and every one of you.”
Anyone wishing to donate to the GoFundMe page set up for Aidan Doughty can do so at https://www.gofundme.com/f/doughtys-road-to-recovery.
Hope he gets well soon and get back in the ice