Footy legend Peter Riccardi’s son put on life support after horror scene

An AFL legend has shared horrific details of his son’s fight for life after a freak incident that remains a mystery.

Peter Riccardi is a proud dad. Photo: instagram @geelongcats.

Geelong legend Peter Riccardi has revealed son Osca has been on life support in recent days after a freak incident earlier this month.

The Cats great has shared gut-wrenching details about his family’s ordeal in an emotional interview.

Osca, who was drafted by the Cats before being de-listed by the football club last year, is making a miraculous recovery after his parents had earlier been told by doctors to prepare for the worst possible outcome as he remained in a coma.

Riccardi has told K-Rock’s Beyond The Boundary podcast that the family still does not know how the 19-year-old ended up with a brain infection.

“A couple of Sundays ago (Osca) came home, been out with a few of his mates, he’d been to the beach, went out for dinner, went out to play 10-pin bowling ... and said he was going to bed,” Peter Riccardi, who played 288 games for the Cats, said.

“Then halfway through the night he was up, he was vomiting, he was feeling a bit crook ... we just thought he was run down.

Peter Riccardi is a proud dad. Photo: instagram @geelongcats.

“But come lunchtime, he couldn’t talk, he could hardly walk.”

Peter said the family is counting its lucky stars that his wife Mel was not working that day and was able to rush Osca to the hospital when it became clear something was very wrong.

Riccardi says all his son can remember from the incident now is that he was unable to dress himself when told by his mum they needed to go to the hospital.

Riccardi said his son had “ripped the s***” out of his track pants when trying to put his leg through a pocket.

Osca had scans and was admitted to a Geelong hospital’s ICU ward. The scans showed he had “swelling” on the brain.

Peter said doctors found his son had a sinus infection, an ear infection and glandular fever all “rolled into one” freak cocktail.

Despite this, he had been socialising with friends in the days leading up the medical emergency.

Osca Riccardi. Picture: Alan Barber

Peter Riccardi playing backyard footy with his sons Osca and Boston. Picture: Alan Barber

“Whether the swim did something with his ears and went into his brain, I’m not 100 per cent sure, yet,” Riccardi said.

“They put him an induced coma for three days. He was in ICU (Intensive Care Unit) for four days.

“But he’s back home now recovering ... you wouldn’t know that two weeks ago, watching him on life support, and seeing him now, it’s amazing what they do in there.”

Riccardi was clearly emotional when asked on the podcast how “scary” the ordeal was.

He responded: “It was, yeah ... obviously they have got to prepare you for the worst.

“That was probably the worst thing to hear, because we didn’t know how he was going to come out of it.

“But again, like I said, if Mel had gone to work that day, he wouldn’t be here today.

“We’re pretty lucky, we’re pretty lucky.

“It must have been a mother’s intuition or mother’s instinct to stay at home that day.”

Peter Riccardi leaves the field for the final time

He said it had been a “tears of joy” moment when he was finally taken off life support.

Peter said the family will see a neuro specialist on Friday, June 14, to learn the next step for Osca’s recovery.

The early signs for a full recovery are positive and Osca is already plotting a return to his football career, his dad says.

Osca remains part of the Cats’ VFL program and also signed with the Bell Park Dragons in the AFL Barwon League.

Peter Riccardi is a cult hero of the Geelong Football Club and won the best and fairest award in 1998.

He was part of the Cats teams that made it to the AFL grand final in 1994 and 1995. bit never tasted premiership success.

Originally published as Footy legend Peter Riccardi’s son put on life support after horror scene