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NEWCASTLE Knights utility Peter Mata'utia has revealed for the first time how close he came to dying in hospital a fortnight ago after a stray elbow during a game left him unable to breathe.
A Newcastle surgeon dramatically saved his life, performing an emergency tracheostomy after Mata'utia's larynx was crushed by the impact of the elbow.
"I thought I was going to die. I thought I was gone,"Mata'utia, 21, said yesterday.
"I was in hospital having a scan on my throat to find out what the damage was, when all of a sudden, I couldn't breathe.
"I was waving my arms around in a panic and the only thing that saved me was the surgeon.
"He wasn't meant to be there at the time but they (nurses) managed to hold me down while he cut my throat and put a tube in.
"They told me later if he wasn't there at the time, I would have been finished. I'd be dead.
"It was pretty scary."
Mata'utia, who has played seven NRL games for the Knights, has been ruled out for the rest of the season following the incident, which occurred in a NSW Cup game against Manly a fortnight ago.
He went in to make a tackle on Manly prop Vic Mauro when he was struck by the elbow.
"It was accidental - just one of those things that can happen in a game,"Mata'utia said. "I was down on all fours, struggling to breathe and coughing up blood.
"They took me straight off and gave me oxygen but I'm not sure anybody thought it was that serious until it didn't improve and they called an ambulance."
The impact had ripped the cartilage from around his larynx, which he needed surgery to repair.
He spent a week in hospital but is still suffering headaches and has been told not to do anything that may strain the injury. "To talk, I have to hold my finger over the hole in my throat where the surgeon put the tube in, but there won't be any serious long-term effects,"he said.
"I really want to thank my family and team-mates for helping me get through it, but especially nurse Michelle and the surgeon.
"They saved my life."
Despite the close call, Mata'utia says he is more determined that ever to get back on the field next season.
While his injury was not caused by a shoulder charge, he says protecting the head of players should be a priority for the code's officials.
"Things can happen by accident in games but you don't want to see anyone hit around the head,"he said.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...tia-cheats-death/story-e6frexq9-1226433382951
A Newcastle surgeon dramatically saved his life, performing an emergency tracheostomy after Mata'utia's larynx was crushed by the impact of the elbow.
"I thought I was going to die. I thought I was gone,"Mata'utia, 21, said yesterday.
"I was in hospital having a scan on my throat to find out what the damage was, when all of a sudden, I couldn't breathe.
"I was waving my arms around in a panic and the only thing that saved me was the surgeon.
"He wasn't meant to be there at the time but they (nurses) managed to hold me down while he cut my throat and put a tube in.
"They told me later if he wasn't there at the time, I would have been finished. I'd be dead.
"It was pretty scary."
Mata'utia, who has played seven NRL games for the Knights, has been ruled out for the rest of the season following the incident, which occurred in a NSW Cup game against Manly a fortnight ago.
He went in to make a tackle on Manly prop Vic Mauro when he was struck by the elbow.
"It was accidental - just one of those things that can happen in a game,"Mata'utia said. "I was down on all fours, struggling to breathe and coughing up blood.
"They took me straight off and gave me oxygen but I'm not sure anybody thought it was that serious until it didn't improve and they called an ambulance."
The impact had ripped the cartilage from around his larynx, which he needed surgery to repair.
He spent a week in hospital but is still suffering headaches and has been told not to do anything that may strain the injury. "To talk, I have to hold my finger over the hole in my throat where the surgeon put the tube in, but there won't be any serious long-term effects,"he said.
"I really want to thank my family and team-mates for helping me get through it, but especially nurse Michelle and the surgeon.
"They saved my life."
Despite the close call, Mata'utia says he is more determined that ever to get back on the field next season.
While his injury was not caused by a shoulder charge, he says protecting the head of players should be a priority for the code's officials.
"Things can happen by accident in games but you don't want to see anyone hit around the head,"he said.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...tia-cheats-death/story-e6frexq9-1226433382951
