Boxer Hussein Hussein details his miracle Covid survival

There were numerous times when the family of boxing great and Olympian Hussein Hussein thought he wouldn’t make it.

“This is my second chance at life,” Hussein Hussein said.

The former Olympian and champion boxer is back at home, having spent 50 nights in the intensive care unit at Westmead Hospital with a machine breathing for him, feeling grateful to be alive after contracting Covid-19.

Former boxer Hussein Hussein spent two months fighting for life in hospital after contracting Covid-19.

There were numerous times when Hussein’s family believed he would not make it.

“We weren’t allowed to visit him in hospital for a while, we’d watch the 11am press conference with Gladys [Berejiklian] every morning, and every time they said a man in his 40s from southwestern Sydney had died we thought it was Huss,” brother Billy Hussein said.

“Hussy”, as he is affectionately known, represented Australia at the 1996 Atlanta Games and became one of the nation’s finest boxers in the early 2000s, fighting for the WBC flyweight title twice and amassing a professional record of 31-5 (24KO).

MARCH 19, 2005 : Boxer Hussein Hussein (L) lands a left to the body of Jorge Arce, as they trade punches in their WBC flyweight elimination bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas in 2005.

But nothing he endured in the ring could prepare him for literally the toughest fight of his life.

“I have no idea how I got Covid, we were in lockdown so I wasn’t going out anywhere,” 46-year-old Hussein said.

“I thought it was a bad flu. Then my fingers and toes turned blue.”

Hussein’s wife immediately called the ambulance despite his protestation he could recover with cold medication.

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“The paramedics took a look at me and said; ‘You can stay here and die, or come with us to the hospital,” Hussein said.

“I remember being wheeled through the corridor, the hospital was packed because it was in the midst of all the Covid cases, that’s the last thing I remember.”

That was on Saturday, September 11.

What followed was nine weeks of touch-and-go moments as Hussein was placed on life support as his lungs withered away.

Doctors used the rare ECMO machine (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) to breathe for Hussein when his body failed.

Ventilators, tubes and drips were deployed as Hussein lay comatose.

Hussein lost 16kg over the course of eight weeks, slipping down to his fighting weight of 55kg.

Hussein " Hussy " Hussein.

The father-of-four is a shell of himself and has had to learn how to walk again given the deterioration of muscle.

“I had no solid food for two months, I was being fed through a drip,” Hussein said.

“When I first woke up and they asked me to sit up, the room started spinning because I was so weak, I couldn’t hold myself up.”

Billy Hussein, the famed boxing trainer who runs Bodypunch Gym where Hussy was helping him before falling ill, described the family’s agony while their oldest sibling was on life support.

Trainer Billy Hussein, & boxers Nader Hamden, Skinny Hussein & Hussein Hussein.

“It was extremely difficult for our parents, my sister and I were the ones who were in daily contact with the nurses, our younger brothers Nedal and Maz didn’t cope with it very well, they went into shock,” Billy said.

“It was very tough, we’d get updates but things were changing by the hour.

“There were a few times we thought we were going to lose Hussy. We prepared ourselves and said if God wants him back, then that’s the way it is, but if he is meant to recover and be back with his family then he will make it.

“The doctors and nurses at Westmead did an incredible job, they made a miracle happen, Hussy is alive and with us today because of them. They don’t get paid enough, they do not get the recognition they deserve.

“And the response from our community in southwestern Sydney was amazing, we had people giving Hussy’s family money to cover his rent for three months – anonymous donations.

“We had people from Guildford, Merrylands, Bankstown, giving his kids Woolworths vouchers and having Ubers drop off food so they were fed.”

Hussein got out of the ICU on October 25, then three days later was released from the trauma unit and returned to his home.

“I want to thank the doctors and nurses at Westmead Hospital, I wouldn’t be here without them,” he said.

Former boxer Hussein Hussein is recovering at home after Covid-19 nearly claimed his life.

For the first few days, Hussein was unable to take steps without being held up by his sons or brother.

“Then I could take two or three steps, and now I can walk up to 10 steps before I have to sit down again,” Hussein said.

“They say it will take six months for me to fully recover

“I’ve never smoked or drank, I keep myself fit, it’s just really weird how it affects different people in different ways.

“It was horrifying. I wouldn’t wish this upon anybody.

“But I know exactly what I have to do.

“I will use the experience of preparing for fights during my boxing career to get me through this.

Hussein Hussein (L).

“The doctors want me to start with body rehab, then slowly start to build my strength with light weights, stairs.

“I’m not going to risk anything, I’m going to be dedicated and make sure I fully recover.

“This is my second chance at life. I am not taking anything for granted.”

Originally published as Boxer Hussein Hussein details his miracle Covid survival