Jed Cartwright is the happiest he’s ever been after years struggling with chronic pain and anxiety

Last Saturday, Cartwright marked Melbourne Storm’s ball of granite, Justin Olam. Tackling him is like trying to stop a boulder rolling down a hill. Cartwright stopped Olam. Did his job. Got the win, and respect from his superstar teammates.

“I can’t give him more of a wrap,” enthused Latrell Mitchell on Fox League, “he’s turned up, done his job, shut Olam down.”

A few days later, Cartwright smiles at the love. The fading Justin bumps and Olam bruises are the types of pain he’ll take every day of the week compared to what he’s endured in a long road to recognition.

For most of the last four years, Cartwright has lived in chronic pain.

“Anyone who has dealt with chronic pain will know,” Cartwright says, “it affects your whole way of life.”

*****

Jed Cartwright was born into rugby league, made for rugby league.

His grandad Merv was a founding father of Penrith’s entry into the competition in 1967. No Merv, no Penrith, many reckon. He even provided the Panthers with four players, sons Cliff, David, Michael and a tall rangy backrower who ended up representing Australia, John.

In turn, John produced Jed, and like dad, Jed grew into a young man built for footy. After starting with the Gold Coast, where his dad was inaugural Titans coach, Jed came ‘home’ to Penrith in 2017.

“Felt like a great opportunity and the first year there was probably the best I had in my career.” Cartwright says.

He was part of the wave of young talent that has turned Penrith into a powerhouse, and in that first year, won a NSW Cup (reserve grade) title alongside the likes of Jarome Luai and Viliame Kikau.

That’s when the trouble started. Jed’s next pre-season was ruined by a groin problem, and what followed were enough medical issues for a whole series of RPA.

He’s had four shoulder surgeries, ankle reconstruction, double groin reconstruction, and lastly, two microdiscectomies in my back. Those back problems, while micro in name, meant big problems.

Microdiscectomies are needed when a disc ruptures out of its normal home in the spinal column – in Cartwright’s case, down low between his L4 and L5 vertebrae – and punch into the nerves which share the space.

The sciatic nerve is greatly affected, and once impinged, it causes havoc. Cartwright lost feeling down his left leg, all the way down to his foot. It was made worse when sitting, as the disc squeezed out more from the vertebrae onto the nerve.

“Couple of years there just in constant auto-pilot,” Cartwright says.

“Drive to training, be in pain. Be in pain while training. Get through it, drive home, be in pain. Go to dinner, be in pain.

“I couldn’t really enjoy anything. In this constant pain and anxiety all the time with it.”

While his back pain was playing out in 2020, Cartwright also came to the realisation that his career at Penrith was stalling after appearing in just one first grade game in four seasons.

Being a Cartwright at Penrith sounded romantic, but he had to get out.

South Sydney’s then-coach Wayne Bennett threw a lifeline.

“Wayne’s good, you get one handshake off Wayne, and that’s the first time you meet him,” Cartwright says.

“He said he trusts me and that’s all I needed to hear.”

Buoyed by the security of a three-year deal, Cartwright was even more grateful when the Bunnies’ medical staff got to the bottom of his chronic back pain.

MRI scans done to detect disc ruptures are usually done lying down, and Cartwright’s showed little wrong. Souths ordered for him to get scans while sitting. In Cartwright’s situation, that meant his L4-L5 disc was acting like the devil, and the true severity of his issue was revealed.

All that bottled up anxiety and hidden pain had no reason. He went in to get it fixed in February 2021, and made it back within ten weeks. Souths forged to a grand final, but Cartwright couldn’t quite break into the matchday squad.

2022 promised more.

But during one of February’s trial games, the problem flared again.

Disc ruptures have a wonderful habit of reappearing and Cartwright’s popped out again after a tackle in the trials. Surgery was needed. And worse, if it happened again, a full disc replacement, or spinal fusion (where metal rods are inserted in place of the disc to keep the vertebrae separate) might be needed.

The prospect played with Cartwright’s head.

“Was very close to saying I can’t be bothered doing this,” he says.

“My career wasn’t going the way I wanted it to go, wasn’t playing as much first grade as I wanted to, it was a battle. Family was around me supporting me, letting me know it‘s fine, you can stop.

“So after the initial reaction wore off, I was ready to rip into rehab to get it right.”

*****

While the Cartwright name holds extra significance at Penrith, at Souths, Jed is more than happy to just blend in.

On July 8, five months after his second back surgery, Cartwright returned to first grade when Souths produced a comeback win over Newcastle. It was just his 12th first grade game, at the ripe old age of 25.

“The club has been so good to me to get me where I am now,” Cartwright says. “Physically, mentally, they’ve just been all over it helping me every step of the way.”

There is no need to start trying to pop ridiculous offloads like dad John, who used to barrel into contact with two or three others and somehow, like an octopus escaping a bucket, free an arm to get rid of the ball.

“The offload is there,” Cartwright laughs, “but it’s not as good as the old man’s. I’m just getting into my groove.”

“My job is pretty simple. Run the ball hard, get a quick play the ball and let Cody (Walker) and Latrell (Mitchell) play off that.”

Cartwright is playing out of position, covering for injured centre Campbell Graham.

Once Graham returns, Cartwright’s position is up in the air, but for once, he’s excited about the unknown.

“I’m enjoying it now more than ever before because of that time out of it.

“Such a different person now the chronic pain has gone,” he says, while adding a big goal is to get enough money out of footy to buy some land and set up a rescue dog refuge.

“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life and if something was to come and set me back, I’d be ready to take it head on.”

“I know what I want to do, and have a plan on how to do it.”