Danny
18-10-2004, 07:23 PM
Head seriously ill
By Adam Hawse
October 17, 2004
FOX SPORTS
ST GEORGE Illawarra's player of the year, Mathew Head, has been denied a clearance to start off-season training after being struck down by pneumonia as well as kidney and liver problems.
Head, 22, spent five days in Wollongong Hospital earlier this month and is still struggling with the after-effects.
The talented halfback must undergo weekly tests and will have further chest X-rays this week.
He visited a specialist last Friday and was told not to undertake any type of physical activity. Head felt unwell during the latter stages of the season, but reasoned it was a lingering case of the 'flu.
It was not until the night of September 30 that he realised it was far worse.
"I got sick that afternoon and it got worse and worse, so my parents took me to hospital that night and I stayed there for five days," Head said. "It was scary, especially when I knew I was staying in there overnight in emergency. I was thinking 'what's going on'.
"I'm not really sure how it came about and they don't really know either.
"I had no energy and was vomiting. At first I thought it was food poisoning, but it kept getting worse.
"They told me I had pneumonia, a kidney infection and something wrong with my liver.
"I'm getting over it now, but I've still got to go to a specialist every Friday to get the all-clear.
"I haven't got the all-clear yet, so I'll go again next Friday and see how I go."
Head was released from hospital on October 5 and three days later won St George Illawarra's Integral Energy Dragons Medal as player of the year.
It capped an astonishing season for the Dapto junior, who started the year as an unknown and was behind the established Brett Firman as the club's No1 halfback.
But Dragons coach Nathan Brown dumped Firman early in the season and Head never looked back.
Firman was offered a release and has joined the Sydney Roosters.
A disrupted off-season for Head is the last thing the Dragons need as they strive to overcome their disappointing early exit from the finals.
After struggling to find a halfback since Trent Barrett filled the position in 1999, the Dragons breathed a sigh of relief as Head proved this season to be the on-field director they had so badly craved.
But just three weeks from the start of pre-season training, Head's health is still far from normal.
"I just get tired really easy," Head said. "I feel real tired and have to go and have a sleep. Hopefully in another couple of weeks I'll get over that.
"I saw the specialist (last Friday) and he came up with the same stuff.
"I've got to stay away from training and alcohol and next week I'll get X-rays on my chest and see what comes up. Apparently you can have pneumonia for six weeks.
"I've had the 'flu for a long time and I think when I had rib cartilage and a broken rib (through the season), that probably didn't help. It might have stopped me from breathing properly."
It has been an unhappy year for halfbacks at the Dragons. Firman broke his leg in a premier league match not long after he was dropped by Brown.
While recuperating, Firman was rushed into intensive care at St George Hospital with a potentially fatal fat embolism.
The Sunday Telegraph
By Adam Hawse
October 17, 2004
FOX SPORTS
ST GEORGE Illawarra's player of the year, Mathew Head, has been denied a clearance to start off-season training after being struck down by pneumonia as well as kidney and liver problems.
Head, 22, spent five days in Wollongong Hospital earlier this month and is still struggling with the after-effects.
The talented halfback must undergo weekly tests and will have further chest X-rays this week.
He visited a specialist last Friday and was told not to undertake any type of physical activity. Head felt unwell during the latter stages of the season, but reasoned it was a lingering case of the 'flu.
It was not until the night of September 30 that he realised it was far worse.
"I got sick that afternoon and it got worse and worse, so my parents took me to hospital that night and I stayed there for five days," Head said. "It was scary, especially when I knew I was staying in there overnight in emergency. I was thinking 'what's going on'.
"I'm not really sure how it came about and they don't really know either.
"I had no energy and was vomiting. At first I thought it was food poisoning, but it kept getting worse.
"They told me I had pneumonia, a kidney infection and something wrong with my liver.
"I'm getting over it now, but I've still got to go to a specialist every Friday to get the all-clear.
"I haven't got the all-clear yet, so I'll go again next Friday and see how I go."
Head was released from hospital on October 5 and three days later won St George Illawarra's Integral Energy Dragons Medal as player of the year.
It capped an astonishing season for the Dapto junior, who started the year as an unknown and was behind the established Brett Firman as the club's No1 halfback.
But Dragons coach Nathan Brown dumped Firman early in the season and Head never looked back.
Firman was offered a release and has joined the Sydney Roosters.
A disrupted off-season for Head is the last thing the Dragons need as they strive to overcome their disappointing early exit from the finals.
After struggling to find a halfback since Trent Barrett filled the position in 1999, the Dragons breathed a sigh of relief as Head proved this season to be the on-field director they had so badly craved.
But just three weeks from the start of pre-season training, Head's health is still far from normal.
"I just get tired really easy," Head said. "I feel real tired and have to go and have a sleep. Hopefully in another couple of weeks I'll get over that.
"I saw the specialist (last Friday) and he came up with the same stuff.
"I've got to stay away from training and alcohol and next week I'll get X-rays on my chest and see what comes up. Apparently you can have pneumonia for six weeks.
"I've had the 'flu for a long time and I think when I had rib cartilage and a broken rib (through the season), that probably didn't help. It might have stopped me from breathing properly."
It has been an unhappy year for halfbacks at the Dragons. Firman broke his leg in a premier league match not long after he was dropped by Brown.
While recuperating, Firman was rushed into intensive care at St George Hospital with a potentially fatal fat embolism.
The Sunday Telegraph