On September 13, 2014, Connor, then 19, suffered a catastrophic injury to his cervical spinal cord whilst playing rugby. He dislocated his fifth and sixth vertebrae in his neck and became paralysed from the shoulders down. Connor was playing in an away match for the University of Stirling in a pre-season friendly against the Dundee team, Harris RFC.

"Connor's Journey" was created while Connor was still in the acute ward of the hospital. His family established a website as a medium for fundraising to aid his rehabilitation and it was Connor himself who chose the fitting quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail", and the motto "Stand Tall". The incredible support the campaign received was absolutely overwhelming and it is still ongoing. Donations and fund-raising sums have flooded in, really reflecting the close-knit community spirit of the rugby world at all levels, and the generosity of so many individuals who have been moved by Connor's strong character and his story.

In the first week of the website going live, donations exceeded over £10,000 and reached an astonishing £65,000 by the New Year. Thereafter, a fresh £100,000 target was set and is well underway to being met. This is in order to help Connor achieve his developing aims which have evolved as his recovery has progressed, made possible thanks to the support which he has been honoured and humbled to receive.

Funds raised initially were used to make house adaptions that allowed him to leave hospital much earlier than expected, which in itself was a massive morale boost. The next step was an adapted transport vehicle enabling Connor to get out and about. Standard chairs have a lengthy application process, so rather than the long wait funds provided the opportunity to purchase a custom-made wheelchair just in time for the next stage of the journey: travelling to Project Walk in America, only three months post-injury.