Motoring back after a yacht race into Port Shelter on a balmy August afternoon, crew members on Impala 1 recall the telephone call with a solemnity that never passes. Peter Kende was expecting news of his rising rugby star son representing Hong Kong, announcing a win against Malaysia in the opening game of the Asian Junior Championships in Bangkok. Instead, it was a call a parent never wants to experience. As Kende's face became ashen, his crew members could hear a pin drop on board as he asked: 'Is he paralysed?'
That afternoon heralded the beginning of a different life not just for 18-year-old Ben, but for the entire family. Ben is living in Sydney at the Royal Rehabilitation Centre, where he has been since October last year and will probably remain until June. His mother, Jenny, has kept a beside vigil since the accident.
He is learning to adjust to life as a tetraplegic, the modern-day term for a quadriplegic with spinal cord injury. 'He has no use of his legs, and some use of his arms,' says Kende. 'What he has now is limited. Some extra use of his arms might come back. He cannot grasp things with his hands yet. Ben's injury is what they term an ASIA B (American Spinal Injury Association) C5 /C6 incomplete.'
The incident that caused Ben's life to come crashing down was a one in a million. 'It was a completely innocuous tackle which led to a ruck forming. An opposition player fell on Ben as he was emerging from the ruck. Ben was on-track for a brilliant rugby future.'
It was regarded by many as a certainty the talented Island School teenager would soon be picked for the senior Hong Kong team. Just six months before the accident, when he was 17, he knocked over two penalties in a the First Division Grand Championship battle to bring CBRE Hong Kong Football Club a stunning 16-14 victory over Valley at King's Park. The promising young fly-half had played at full back that day, proving he was truly versatile.
Sadly, it was not just that game which Ben and his family would etch in their memories for life.