Darren Albert lucky to be alive
October 25, 2009
AFTER losing 2 litres of blood, Newcastle’s grand final hero Darren Albert lay flat on his hospital bed fearing the worst. Needing six bags of blood for a transfusion after rupturing his spleen during a rugby sevens match at Byron Bay last Saturday, Albert confides he’s lucky to be alive.
“It’s a bit of shock, I’m just happy I’ll be OK,” Albert told The Sunday Telegraph from his hospital bed on the Gold Coast.
The 33-year-old flyer will always be remembered for his famous try in the dying seconds of the 1997 grand final against Manly, but he produced the greatest escape of his life last week.
Hit late in a tackle, the former Knights winger thought nothing of it until he was writhing in agony 30 minutes later.
“It took me a while to think that maybe I should go do something about this,” Albert said. “I would hate to have thought what would have happened if I had left it any longer.”
Rushed to Byron Bay Hospital, the 33-year-old underwent a series of scans before doctors sent him to Tweed Hospital for emergency surgery.
His blood pressure had plummeted and the tear in his spleen resulted in the loss of a huge amount of blood.
“They eventually replaced it with six bags of blood and about four bags of saline,” Albert said.
“I think I was pretty fortunate where the actual rip happened in the spleen, it was quite low so they could patch it. And if I was maybe older, it would have made a significant difference.”
“When the staff came up to before the operation and told me they might have to take my spleen out - which would involve taking regular injections for my immunity system, as well as taking aspirin for the rest of your life - I was more worried about that than anything else.”
“I ended up being able to keep (the spleen), so I got through it pretty well unscathed except for a 20cm scar across my belly.”
Albert said he had been boosted by support from friends and family, including former Newcastle team-mates Clint Newton and Robbie O’Davis. “That’s what footy can do … it’s good to have that support,” he said.
Albert, who is an electrician by trade, has been advised by doctors not to play contact sport again.
And while he’s expected to make a full recovery, Albert has been barred from even the most basic household duties for six weeks.
“I’m slowly getting the strength back now,” Albert said. “I’m not supposed to lift anything for four to six weeks, including laundry and stuff like that.”
“I’m only working part-time, so I don’t know how that is going to go either. I still like playing the Legends games with the Newcastle Old Boys each year, but maybe I’ll have to join the coaching staff now.”
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