I was greatly saddened yesterday to read of the assisted suicide of Daniel James in the Independent. Daniel had been an outstanding rugby player who had played for England Under-16s and for his University team. In early 2007 he had an accident in training which left him quadriplegic. It is not surprising if he was in despair following this shock. However I am disturbed with the reason given for his suicide.

Yesterday afternoon Daniel James's family issued a statement through their lawyers. It told of how he refused to live a second-class existence, and concluded: "This is the last way that the family wanted Dan's life to end but he was, as those who know him are aware, an intelligent, strong-willed and some say determined young man."

Having only a few months ago seen the Paralympics I am amazed at what disabled people can do even in sport; we saw some of our medal winners in the parade in London on Thursday. My wife works at a school with children having severe physical and mental disabilities but is so happy to see children reach their potential.

When I read that Daniel was quadriplegic I recalled a book I had borrowed some 3 decades ago about a young woman - Joni Eareckson who was very successful in sport but was paralysed from the neck downward in a diving accident (Joni ISBN: 0553115723). This book tells of her struggles and suffering in hospital initially; a time of total despair. She ends up only being able to move her head but finds meaning though her faith in God and as she developed new skills as an artist.

It is sad that Daniel's condition was not as bad as this.

Yesterday, his physio, who asked not to be named, told The Independent that she believed Daniel could have gone on to live a "worthwhile life". She added: "I heard that Dan had died last month and I was totally shocked. He was improving and, despite technically being a quadriplegic he still had the use of his arms and hands. He could feed and dress himself and was able to push himself around in his wheelchair. Most quadriplegics do improve over time; these improvements come perhaps two or three years after the accident. It was early days for Daniel."

In the same newspaper there is a story of another young quadriplegic rugby player - Matt Hampson - also aged 23. He had a long recovery but is active in the rugby scene as a journalist and business.

My passion for rugby has never diminished, in fact it's probably stronger than it ever has been. The support I've had from the rugby community has been amazing, it is one big family and I'm proud to be part of it. I still watch the Leicester Tigers, in fact I'm probably one of their harshest critics....Life is busy and a lot of fun. I have my own website and memorabilia company and I'm in the process of writing a book with sports writer Paul Kimmage. I have regular physiotherapy sessions which are a great help. Although physically I'm not an athlete, mentally I always will be, and I need to be pushed.

While there are gut-wrenching stories of people who are terminally ill and want to die, the flip side if assisted suicide is legalised people who are ill or severely disabled may feel under pressure to commit suicide to avoid being a "burden".

It is important that our society values disabled people as having real and meaningful lives as fellow-citizens and not as having "second class lives".

Daniel was not terminally ill and his treatment was showing great promise. Given another two years of treatment he might have been like Matt Hampson and found a new "first class life". The poor guy was obviously in despair but did he get help to cope with the shock and depression of his condition?

I hope that the investigation will look into whether we do enough to help people like Daniel cope with their condition and rebuild their lives. A life at 23 with use of arms and hands ought to be a life of opportunity not despair. We need to learn to help future accident victims - suicide should not be the answer. Measures to help those close to a victim - such as families and friends - are also needed.