Former NRL star Chris Walker has revealed how he recovered from having his legs crushed by a shipping container – and the way steroids helped him get his old life back.
The ex-Queensland, Broncos, Roosters and Titans winger ‘played death’ when a 700kg shipping container fell on his legs in far north Queensland in December 2021.
The father-of-three was trapped under the steel plate and was believed to have been just minutes away from death when he was rescued.
“I can’t explain what it feels like when a shipping container falls on you,” Walker, 44, said. News Corp.
‘I had gone from walking 2.5 million steps to a wheelchair that could no longer walk.
Chris Walker (left) was prescribed PEDs to help him recover from a horrific accident
The former football star says taking the drugs saved his life and made him feel superhuman
‘Like any major event, it happens so quickly. All I remember is the force of the container hitting me and feeling like I was being crushed by a whole group of 100kg front rowers.
‘I just felt so helpless. My legs were crushed. I couldn’t do anything.
‘There were so many emotions going through my head at that moment.
“Please don’t lose my legs.”
“Please let me play with my children again.”
‘Please please. Don’t die’.
It took workers about three minutes to save the one-off try-scoring machine, but his injuries were devastating.
“At one point I considered having my left leg amputated due to the crushing nature of the injury,” Walker says.
‘My left leg was a mess. It tore my left kneecap, broke the meniscus in my left knee, tore the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and I also had a compound fracture, which left the bone sticking out of my left leg.
The former tryscoring machine was crushed by a shipping container in December 2021, suffering shocking leg injuries (pictured) that left him in a wheelchair
The physical injuries were very serious and Walker also suffered mentally from the trauma
‘I also broke the tibia of my right leg, which broke both my legs.
‘I had two rods that went along both legs. In the eighteen months after the accident I had five operations. It always hung over my head that my leg could become infected or that I could develop gangrene.’
The former football star was out of action for many months and was forced to see a psychologist due to the mental anguish he endured – at one point even considering suicide.
Walker had always been against the use of performance-enhancing drugs, but has found they have helped his recovery.
“When my boyfriend told me I could put up with certain things, I’m not kidding, I felt like punching him in the face,” Walker admitted.
‘I was walking around like an 80-year-old man.
‘We trained together in the gym and three or four days later I was still sore. I would be in excruciating pain just doing daily activities.
“My friend said, ‘I want you to be open about this, but there are things that can help people who have had trauma in their lives get back to some kind of normal.’
“He said, ‘There’s testosterone, human growth hormone, peptides… if things are done right, you can get healthy again.’
Walker eventually agreed to give PEDs a try and hasn’t looked back, insisting the course he took “saved his life.”
“It makes you feel superhuman,” he said.
‘If I had used this stuff when I played for the Broncos I would have scored 100 tries in a season.
“Now I understand why there is a temptation to cheat at the Olympics or in any professional sporting arena.
Walker (pictured with his wife Courtney) is against the use of steroids in sports, but is very grateful for their availability in his physical recovery
“The guys who cheated other natural guys by using performance enhancing drugs are a disgrace.
‘My recovery was incredible. I could do a weights session in the morning, then go back in the afternoon, and then go back to eating and not wake up at all.
‘The strength and recovery are incredible. It’s actually completely unfair in a professional sports context.
“There will be people who will read this and judge me, but this is my story and I wanted to be honest about it.”
Walker followed his doctor’s orders during his recovery and has since stopped using PEDs.
He is now in great shape, as evidenced by his training videos on Instagram, where it looks like he can still run out and play in the first grade.
Walker now has a thriving vodka business and is very happy to be able to live life to the fullest.
Lifeline 13 11 14
Suicide call service 1300 659 467