Melbourne United coach Dean Vickerman was forced to miss his side’s clash against Cairns Taipans on Thursday night after he was rushed to hospital with appendicitis.
The 54-year-old had been experiencing some serious pains in his abdomen before he travelled to Cairns for the match.
However, on Wednesday, Vickerman had to rule himself out of the clash and later took himself to the hospital.
During an interview with Code Sports, he revealed that his appendix had burst before he arrived at the emergency room.
Doctors then rushed to get him into surgery to prevent infection or sepsis from occurring.
‘That was a scary part of it,’ the coach explained to Code Sports.
Melbourne United coach Dean Vickerman was forced to miss his side’s clash against Cairns Taipans on Thursday night after he was rushed to hospital with appendicitis
‘I was there for 14 hours until surgery. Cairns hospital was amazing, did a hell of a job, and I was really fortunate to have the people around me to make good decisions.’
Vickerman is thankfully on the mend following the surgery.
Recounting the ordeal, he explained that he had begun to feel some pains in his stomach late on Tuesday, the day before his team travelled north.
He arrived at the airport the following day. But it was here that he realised something was not quite right.
‘We had an early flight to Cairns (Wednesday) and there was a red flag for me when I said: “You’re not going to the Qantas lounge, you’re going to the gate to just sleep for an hour on the floor” and I’d never done that before,’ Vickerman said.
‘When we got up to Cairns, I checked into a hotel room straight away and the pain just continued to increase.’
As the day went on, Vickerman realised that he was not going to be able to coach the team.
The management staff then asked United’s assistant coach, David Barlow, to jump on a flight and travel north to Queensland.
Recounting the ordeal, he explained that he had begun to feel some pains in his stomach late on Tuesday, the day before his team travelled north
‘I knew there was a fair chance if I didn’t get better, I’m no good here,’ he said.
‘So we were having the conversation: “Can we get (assistant David) Barlow on a flight? Yep, we can get that one done. There’s a flight that gets in on time, and now, Rhys (Carter), you’re coaching — good luck with it”.’
Vickerman was able to watch the game from his hospital bed after undergoing surgery.
United would go on to seal an 89-85 victory against the Taipans, with guard Milton Doyle, the side’s top scorer, amassing 25 points during the match.
However, the coach’s memory of the match is a little hazy.
‘My recollection of the game isn’t very good,’ Vickerman said to Code Sports.
‘I was back in recovery by the time the game started but I had to watch it again on the plane on the way home, because I didn’t remember a lot.
‘I was just pleased that we were getting buckets in the fourth quarter.’
Vickerman was able to watch the game from his hospital bed after undergoing surgery and has since travelled home
Vickerman was also able to fly back home with the team, but was not able to coach the side during their 100-91 defeat by the Illawarra Hawks on Sunday, with Carter taking charge during the match.
‘There was always conjecture,’ Vickerman said.
‘I started talking to doctors very early in the recovery process, and they said they might not be able to clear me to fly for up to four days.’
‘I had to meet certain criteria and I made sure I did so I could get the tick off from the doctors and get the prescriptions and the treatment plan.’