Yarrabah man Thaddeaus (Thaddo) Johnson dies after suffering heart attack
A mother grieving her 27-year-old son, who died after suffering a heart attack, has used her loss to highlight the shocking reality of Indigenous life expectancy.
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A mother grieving her 27-year-old son, who died after suffering a heart attack, has used her loss to highlight the shocking Indigenous life expectancy.
It’s contributed to a funeral almost every week this year at the coastal town of Yarrabah, south of Cairns.
Thaddeaus (Thaddo) Johnson died two days after suffering a major heart attack while cheering on his beloved Dirringhi team at the Gordonvale Indigenous Rugby League Carnival.
He was rushed to hospital on Sunday, October 22 but never recovered from significant heart and brain trauma.
Despite the efforts of medical staff at Cairns Hospital, Mr Johnson died on the evening of October 24, aged 27.
The talented football player who completed his schooling at Wavell State High School was the son of well-known fashion designer and Yarrabah leader Elverina Johnson.
Ms Johnson said it was always her second eldest son’s dream to become a professional rugby league player in the NRL but a series of injuries sidelined his aspirations.
“He was a rising football star in his early days,” she said.
“He was with the Edmonton Storm and they won a grand final and he was the first Yarrabah player to represent Queensland in the Indigenous All Stars. He played in a few representative teams over the years on his early rugby league journey.
“If he had not had injuries he may very well likely have been an NRL player by now.
“(The disappointment) had a big impact on him and affected his physical demise which also affected his mental health.”
Ms Johnson said her son did not show signs of any underlying heart issues but if he did he kept his health concerns to himself and his death came as a genuine shock.
“He didn’t say too much about any health concerns, it was totally unexpected,” she said.
The loss of Mr Johnson has the entire community of Yarrabah at a low, something that has happened too often this year, the mother of four boys said.
“We are dealing with a lot of grief, we have been down in spirits because there’s been a funeral nearly every week, there have been about 33 deaths this year,” she said.
“The ratio of deaths for the population of Yarrabah is terribly overwhelming.”
She said she wanted to bring awareness to health issues for the town’s young men, “and make them aware that they are not invincible”.
According to the latest data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, average life expectancy for Indigenous men is 69.1 years — 10.6 years lower than for non-Indigenous men. Indigenous women also lived shorter lives, on average they died 9.5 years earlier than non-Indigenous women.
Published funeral notices show Yarrabah, which has a population of 2505 people, has had at least 23 deaths in 2023, and while respected community leader Alf Neal died in June aged 100, most people appear to have died aged about 50-years-old or younger.
The grieving Gungganji mother who shared the same house as her son said every night at dinner time was a tragic reminder that her boy would never come home and cook for her family again.
“My son loved cooking and he would cook for us every night and to not have him here to cook has really hit me,” she said.
Joel Murgha, Mr Johnson’s brother, said the family had been left heartbroken by the sudden loss.
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Originally published as Yarrabah man Thaddeaus (Thaddo) Johnson dies after suffering heart attack
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