JayBee
Kennel Legend
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2005
- Messages
- 10,794
- Reaction score
- 4,029
FORMER prime minister Bob Hawke has rushed to visit his severely injured grandson, who lost his spleen after a vicious rugby tackle made last weekend.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal Mr Hawke saw 26-year-old David Dillon at Prince of Wales Hospital on Wednesday, the day after his emergency operation, when the former PM returned from an overseas trip.
"He has visited David in hospital," Mr Hawke's office confirmed yesterday.
Mr Dillon, a winger for Randwick rugby union team, was walking and receiving physiotherapy but was he still too unwell to speak publicly yesterday.
"He's not feeling very well but he's OK," a family spokeswoman said yesterday.
Mr Dillon is expected to remain in hospital for at least a week and it is unclear if he will be able to play rugby again.
The man who tackled him, ex-Bronco Leon Bott, is understood to be deeply upset and may face further disciplinary action from the NSW citing commissioner.
He was sin-binned for the tackle in a Shute Shield game against Manly on Saturday.
A ruptured spleen can be a life-threatening injury - and can cause significant blood loss.
Dr Ronald McCoy, of the Royal Australasian College of GPs, said people could survive without a spleen, which was a key part of the immune system and generated vital disease-fighting antibodies.
A severely ruptured spleen is usually surgically removed but a person becomes highly susceptible to infections such as pneumonia and meningitis.
Incredibly, Mr Dillon kept playing after the tackle, which happened while he waited under a high ball. On Tuesday he was rushed to hospital and had the organ removed that day
The Daily Telegraph can reveal Mr Hawke saw 26-year-old David Dillon at Prince of Wales Hospital on Wednesday, the day after his emergency operation, when the former PM returned from an overseas trip.
"He has visited David in hospital," Mr Hawke's office confirmed yesterday.
Mr Dillon, a winger for Randwick rugby union team, was walking and receiving physiotherapy but was he still too unwell to speak publicly yesterday.
"He's not feeling very well but he's OK," a family spokeswoman said yesterday.
Mr Dillon is expected to remain in hospital for at least a week and it is unclear if he will be able to play rugby again.
The man who tackled him, ex-Bronco Leon Bott, is understood to be deeply upset and may face further disciplinary action from the NSW citing commissioner.
He was sin-binned for the tackle in a Shute Shield game against Manly on Saturday.
A ruptured spleen can be a life-threatening injury - and can cause significant blood loss.
Dr Ronald McCoy, of the Royal Australasian College of GPs, said people could survive without a spleen, which was a key part of the immune system and generated vital disease-fighting antibodies.
A severely ruptured spleen is usually surgically removed but a person becomes highly susceptible to infections such as pneumonia and meningitis.
Incredibly, Mr Dillon kept playing after the tackle, which happened while he waited under a high ball. On Tuesday he was rushed to hospital and had the organ removed that day
