‘Andrew, it’s time to wake up’: Fifita speaks on horrifying ordeal

Andrew Fifita has opened up the terrifying ordeal which saw him remain in an induced coma for five days in a Brisbane hospital.

Andrew Fifita spent five days in a coma after this photo was taken.

Rugby league hardman Andrew Fifita has opened up the terrifying ordeal which saw him remain in an induced coma for five days in a Brisbane hospital after having his life saved by quick-thinking paramedics.

It was two Sundays ago when the Cronulla prop left the field during his game against Newcastle, having copped a hit to his throat.

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Fifita sat on the sideline for up to 40 minutes but it was after full-time when he was in the Sharks dressing rooms that he realised his throat was closing up, and he was struggling to breathe.

Some medical staff and paramedics took him out of the sheds and onto the playing field, where his terrified screams could be heard from inside the stadium.

Fifita was rushed to hospital and placed in an induced coma, before doctors performed an operation to repair a fractured larynx.

He remained in a coma until Friday.

Fifita’s condition took a turn for the worse.

On Monday, he spoke to The Daily Telegraph for the first time since waking up and described the moment his doctor brought him out of the coma.

“I heard the doc say ‘Andrew it’s time to wake up’,” Fifita said.

“By then I’m f***ing screaming... he squeezed my hand... then I woke up. I thought it was an hour (had passed by), I didn’t know it was five days.

“I said ‘Where’s my footy shorts’... and I go ‘Where’s my missus? It’s been an hour’, like she’s five minutes up the road.

“He goes ‘You know it’s Friday?’ and I said ‘What? Bulls**t, it’s been an hour’, and he goes ‘No you’ve been here for five days in hospital’.”

During the interview an emotional Fifita is crying as he describes the ordeal.

The 32-year-old remains in hospital in Brisbane and is currently speaking with the assistance of a tracheostomy tube.

He says he had to be taught how to walk and talk again, and is still recovering to his normal self.

Originally published as ‘Andrew, it’s time to wake up’: Fifita speaks on horrifying ordeal