Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Melbourne forward Brody Mihocek says he feared he would not be able to walk again after fracturing his neck in a tackle on King’s Birthday.
In his first interview since his horrific accident against former side Collingwood, Mihocek opened up on the frightening moments immediately after the tackle by 2023 premiership teammate Billy Frampton, saying he heard a “massive crack” upon impact and had lost feeling in his body.
Mihocek, who underwent surgery just over a fortnight ago, faces a long road back to football, but is grateful the consequences of his injury were not more severe. He will be in a brace for another six weeks before a further six weeks of minimal activity.
Though Mihocek has begun ticking off minor milestones in his recovery, his speech has been affected, and there were moments during the interview with the Demons’ website where his voice broke and he had to adjust a bandage on his neck.
Mihocek said he was immediately concerned for his wellbeing after his head hit the ground.
“Your thoughts go to ‘I’m going to not be able to walk for the rest of my life’,” said Mihocek, who has a son, Arthur, with his partner Polly.
“I played out scenarios in my head pretty quickly of what life would be like, what life would be like with a family as well. Once the feeling came back, it was pretty relieving.
“I knew the damage I had was still pretty severe, but it’s funny how quickly you can think of things in the moment. On the day, everyone was pretty calm, I tried to stay pretty calm for everyone around.
“It would’ve been pretty traumatising for a few. I think I held myself together pretty well.”
Mihocek detailed the chilling moments after the tackle.
“I heard a massive crack when I hit the ground and lost feeling in pretty much most of my body,” he said.
“The worry kicked in there. I remember yelling out, saying, ‘I needed some help’. I had some trainers come up to me straight away, and the doctors, but once I started to get feeling back, [it] first started to come in my hips and slowly stated coming to my legs and arms, but [I] was still limited with what I could do with the functions.
“It was pretty scary the initial couple of minutes, but I knew I had something pretty bad. To have feeling back was the main thing for me. I knew I was in good hands with the doctors and support crew on the day.”
Mihocek paid tribute to Polly, who was watching the game in the stands with his father, for her calmness during the harrowing episode.
“She’s seen a few injuries of mine, she knows if she’s keeping me calm it goes pretty well,” Mihocek said.
“She took charge and I had a few friends there to help out as well. With her, she just wanted to look after me straight away. Arthur was at home not knowing what was going on. It was good he was at home and not at the ground.
“The support she’s shown me has been amazing. I don’t ask for much help, but she’s always there to provide it when I need it.”
Mihocek said he is not affected by watching replays of the incident.
”At the end of the day, these things happen in footy, you’ve got to move on,” Mihocek said. “That’s the main thing about getting on with it. [I’ll] try not to feel sorry for myself, it’s what I can do to make me feel good and help others.
“It was a lot the first few days in seeing everything that was out there. As I said, I’m somewhat fit and healthy and still moving. That’s the main thing, it definitely has been a difficult week.”
Mihocek has been ruled out for the season but is keen to return to the club to mentor Demons’ forwards as they push for what had seemed at the start of the year to be an unlikely finals berth under rookie coach Steven King.
“When you do it as a full-time athlete then get it all taken away it can be pretty daunting,” Mihocek said.
“Back half of the year gets pretty hard. If I can be around, add a bit of support here and there, try and help the forward line as much as I can. If we can get in the finals, I can do something, just to be around and help with my mental state. I know the guys appreciate what I can bring to the team as well.”
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