February 19, 2018 4:14pm
Nathan RyanFOX SPORTS
‘I thought I would die’: Manly forward Lloyd Perrett reveals life-threatening seizure
MANLY forward Lloyd Perrett has revealed he feared for his life after he suffered a seizure and heat stroke when he collapsed at training last month.
Perrett, 23, sparked serious concerns in January when he collapsed twice at a training run at Narrabeen from what was thought to be heat exhaustion.
“I woke up thinking what happened? I’m about to die. I had no understanding of what had gone on,” he told foxsports.com.au.
Perrett was rushed to emergency in the back of an ambulance and was told by doctors that heat stroke had a potential fatality rate of 80 per cent. Temporarily paralysed, the young forward thought he “must be dying” when he regained consciousness in hospital.
“I couldn’t move my arms or my legs. I was just lying in the bed. They told me ‘you’ve had a seizure. You were at training and you dropped’,” Perrett said.
“It was the first day of training and I had heat stroke and had a seizure. They told me heat stroke has an 80 per cent fatality rate. They had to check my heart and my head.
“They didn’t know why this would happen to a professional athlete.”
What makes this story even more terrifying is that the warning signs were minimal.
It was his last of three two-kilometre time trials the Sea Eagles we’re completing when the prop lost consciousness.
Perrett had felt some slight pain in his legs which the trainers had put down to muscle soreness.
That was until he lost his footing again.
“I learnt in hospital heat stroke is time critical,” he said.
“If (Manly’s medical staff) hadn’t reacted as fast as they did, I might not be here. The mortality rate is very high.”
After fearing he was on his death bed, unable to move and surrounded by three doctors and four nurses, his thoughts went straight to his wife.
So confused by the whole ordeal, Perrett thought he was still on the Gold Coast enjoying the pre-season break before learning of his near-fatal training horror.
“The next thing I remember is waking up in hospital. The doctors and nurses were all around me,” he said.
“I couldn’t remember what day it was or where I was. I thought I was still on the Gold Coast with my wife, fiance at the time, at the gym.
“… I woke up and thought something’s wrong with me. I actually thought I must be dying.”
After regaining consciousness and surrounded by his loved ones, Perrett’s memory slowly returned but still there was no explanation for why this healthy young man had come so close to death.
A semi-professional athlete since moving to Sydney in 2011, this was uncharted ground.
“I did heart scans, brain scans, blood tests. I still get blood tests to make sure everything is sweet,” Perrett said.
“They said ‘nothing’s wrong with you’. They’ve said ‘it was a freak accident’ but at the time it was very scary.”
Hospitalised for four days, it wasn’t until five weeks after the incident that Perrett returned to training.
But even after he was discharged, the horrors continued.
Perrett was feeling the nasty side-effects of his heat stroke for days after.
He feared his career was over.
“I thought ‘maybe I’ll have to retire’,” he confessed.
“After getting out of hospital I’d be lying on my bed and I’d get dizzy and start spewing up randomly.
“I’d try get up to go to the toilet and just start spewing. They told me I wasn’t allowed to drive for months. Even when my wife was driving, I’d be in the car getting sick looking at everything moving, it was pretty scary for a while.”
Fortunately for the newest member of Queensland’s emerging Origin squad, the Sea Eagles have been tireless in their care for Perrett.
Before returning to training, he was put through rigorous testing.
A heat chamber test where he was placed on a treadmill, inside a room set to 40 degrees with 40 per cent humidity and told to walk for two hours while they tested his body temperature.
It turns out Perrett’s resting body temperature is higher than the average.
This discovery has led to several preventive measures being implemented by the Sea Eagles’ medical staff.
While it means his game day preparation takes a little longer than usual, it’s a small price to pay.
“I do ice baths before a game,” he explained.
“They have ice packs I put on my femoral arteries (the upper thigh) after every session and ice packs on my neck.
“I also have, the University of NSW have offered to give thermometer pills, basically I swallow them the night before and they can get a read on me with this remote. It tells me what my core temperature is.
“I’m very grateful to have this stuff to stop this happening to me or any other player.”
