In a shocking turn of events, Paul Curtis, a prominent player for the North Melbourne AFL team, found himself in a life-threatening situation while on vacation abroad. The 22-year-old athlete recently shared with 7NEWS the harrowing experience that led to his urgent medical evacuation back to Australia after falling seriously ill during his trip.
Last year, while enjoying a holiday in Bali, Curtis was quickly transported from Indonesia to Perth for emergency surgery, raising serious concerns about his health and future in football. He expressed just how alarming the entire ordeal was, stating, “They pretty much said I needed to be hospitalised right now,” which left him in disbelief and fear.
Dr. Clay Golledge, an expert in infectious diseases, didn’t hold back in describing the severity of Curtis’s condition, emphasizing, “A serious, very serious, life-threatening illness and he could have died from this.” This grave assessment underlined the urgency of Curtis's situation.
Interestingly, Curtis’s health issues began before he even set foot in Bali. His troubles started when he landed in London for an end-of-season getaway with his North Melbourne teammates. Initially, what seemed like a bad flu escalated into pneumonia—a concerning development that would soon lead to further complications. After being turned away from a hospital in London on his first visit, he returned the following day, feeling as though he was suffocating. “I waited eight hours to get seen ... I went up to the front desk and I said ‘guys, I can’t breathe’,” he recalled. After finally being attended to, he was prescribed stronger medication and told he was fit to travel, a recommendation that Dr. Golledge later criticized as “reprehensible,” pointing out that the level of care Curtis received was shockingly inadequate.
Just sixteen hours into his flight to Bali, where he planned to reunite with his partner Kelera, Curtis experienced a severe allergic reaction to the antibiotics he had been given. “I just swelled up, my face just puffed up, I had a rash all over my body,” he explained, adding that he was unable to walk due to his swollen feet. A visit to a local hospital in Bali ultimately revealed the alarming diagnosis: an empyema, which is a dangerous accumulation of fluid and pus in the lungs. Despite attempts to treat him with additional antibiotics, the treatment failed, and Curtis required emergency surgery. He was medevacked to Perth for this critical operation.
Upon arrival in Perth, things moved quickly. “Ambulance all the way straight onto the airport strip, get wheeled off the ambulance, straight onto the plane,” Curtis described the urgency of the situation, where he was immediately hooked up to oxygen and prepared for surgery. At Hollywood Hospital in Nedlands, the medical team managed to remove nearly a liter of pus from his lung, inserting a tube to help drain the remaining infection. Following the procedure, Curtis faced an extended recovery period, spending an additional eight days in the hospital.
“This was a serious life-threatening illness,” Dr. Golledge reiterated, highlighting how Curtis might not have survived without prompt medical intervention. Reflecting on the ordeal, Curtis admitted, “I looked really skinny in the face, you could see the bones in my cheeks,” sharing how his energy was depleted to the point where he struggled to walk more than 50 meters without needing a break.
After a grueling three months of rehabilitation, Curtis remains optimistic about his prospects and could potentially return to play in the first round of the season in just eight weeks. Throughout his challenging journey, his thoughts were predominantly focused on his young son, Elijah, who turned three during this tumultuous time. Video calls with his son provided him with motivation, as Curtis fondly recalled, “I’m missing dadda, I’m missing dadda.” Elijah would show him his toys, reminding Curtis of the importance of his health in providing for his family.
This experience has transformed Curtis’s outlook on life, making him acutely aware of how swiftly circumstances can shift and the unpredictability of certain situations. “I’m just so grateful for all the people who helped me get back to where I am now,” he concluded, reflecting on the support he received during this critical period.
