An AFL player was so badly concussed that he forgot his sister had died – forcing him to suffer from through the upsetting ordeal a second time.
Nick Riewoldt fell to the ground at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2015 after a horrific clash with Adelaide Crows player Brodie Smith.
Video footage shows the now-retired St Kilda star, 35, lying lifelessly on the ground from a severe concussion that forced him to be hospitalised.
Riewoldt’s wife, Catherine, spoke of the horrific incident on Wednesday night on Fox Sports’On The Mark, three years after it happened.
Nick Riewoldt (pictured with family, right) was so badly concussed in a 2015 AFL game that he forgot his sister had recently died
His wife, Catherine (pictured, right) revealed the upsetting incident on Wednesday night on Fox Sports’ On The Mark
She said the concussion was so bad that her husband didn’t remember the death of his sister, Maddie, earlier that year.
‘Maddie had just recently passed away and the severity of Nick’s concussion was that he did not remember Maddie had passed away. So he had to get re-told that Maddie had passed,’ she said.
Mrs Riewoldt recalled the phone call she received from the doctor on the night of the incident and how she was urged to get on the next available flight to be by her husband’s side.
She called the incident both ‘frightening’ and ‘terrible,’ saying that seeing the side effects in hospital ‘changed the way I watched football games.’
‘I remember even being pregnant, I just watched the game differently — I was a lot more anxious,’ Mrs Riewoldt said.
Due to the trauma Mrs Riewoldt experienced from the incident, she urged her husband to retire from the game.
Mrs Riewoldt (pictured, left) was so frightened by the event that she urged her husband (pictured, right) to quit the sport
The 2015 concussion occurred at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when Riewoldt collided with Adelaide Crows player Brodie Smith
She said that the discussion was the biggest fight they’ve ever had during their marriage and it was a battle she ultimately lost.
While Riewoldt has now retired from the game, his wife said she is still concerned about the long-lasting affects of his concussion and how it could still affect him in the years to come.
Nick Riewoldt made his AFL debut in 2001 and had a breakout season that year when he took an AFL record 256 marks. He represented St Kilda for over a decade before his 2017 retirement.
In February 2015, his 26-year-old sister Maddie died from aplastic anaemia, a rare bone marrow condition.
Mrs Riewoldt (pictured, right) said she watched the game differently after the 2015 concussion as she was anxious
Riewoldt’s concussion (pictured) was so severe he had to be hospitalised following the incident
The St Kilda star eventually retired in 2017, despite his wife urging him to retire earlier