Cape Town – Former South African rugby player Derick Hougaard recently emerged from a coma after battling respiratory pneumonia at a hospital in Pretoria.
The coma lasted for 13 days after he was found unconscious at home.
In his first radio interview with since waking up, Hougaard mentioned feeling weak and out of breath, attributing some of this discomfort to damage from the ventilator tube, The Citizen reported.
He acknowledged the gravity of his situation, reflecting on the potential of having lost his life and the impact it could have had on his family.
AlSO READ | Former Bok flyhalf Derick Hougaard’s condition remains ‘critical’
“I look a lot better than I feel. I still feel a little weak and I am always out of breath. The tube from the ventilator left a bit of damage, but all in all, I am feeling good,” he said.
“Over the past two weeks, it has really hit me that I could have died, so I am processing that. I think it was definitely a lot worse for other people than it was for me. It’s terrifying thinking how this affected my family, my parents, my kids and Nádine,” Hougaard told Jacaranda FM.
The first nine days of his coma were a blank for him.
Despite some concern over the medication that led to his coma, Hougaard said that it was a combination of opioids used for pain relief that doctors detected in his blood.
He also disclosed that a documentary series about his life had been filmed for over half a year prior to his coma and is scheduled to air in October.
Hougaard’s wife, Nádine, expressed gratitude for the support and prayers for his recovery.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: Twitter/@cornedrpreez1
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Betha Madhomu
