Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli was rushed to hospital on Tuesday afternoon after severing a tendon in his thumb following a horrific DIY accident.
The Nova broadcaster, 46, was helping co-host Kate Ritchie make a costume for her daughter Mae for Book Week when he cut his thumb.
He was promptly rushed to hospital for emergency surgery, with the radio star now beginning a months-long rehabilitation to ensure there is no permanent damage.
“We needed a cut in the end of a piece of dowel or, say, the end of a broom, so that we could put some foam in it to make a spear,” Wippa told listeners this week.
‘So I got to work. I’m not afraid of the tools, but when Kate started filming I suddenly thought I better put on a show here.
“That’s where I cut the skin and tendon of my thumb.”
Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli, 46, was rushed to hospital on Tuesday afternoon after severing a tendon in his thumb following a horrific DIY accident
Wippa says his colleagues acted quickly to get him medical help, taking him to the hospital in an Uber so he could prepare for surgery.
“They had to cut the ends of the broken tendon and stitch them back together,” he said.
‘So now I have three months of hand rehab and the thumb rehab starts tomorrow.
‘For the first three months I just have to be careful with too much exercise, but it’s quite heavily bandaged.
“So obviously there’s a few people asking questions and right now all I’m doing is ‘shark attack.’
Wippa was back on the air for the ride service Thursday afternoon, where he told co-stars Kate and Ryan “Fitzy” Fitzgerald that “Book Week is just the worst.”
‘Book week is just the worst. For example, I understand that it’s meant to motivate kids to read books, grab an outfit and go, but there’s more to it than that,” he said.
‘It has become competitive. That’s where I got carried away.’
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Does the costume pressure of Book Week lead parents to go too far and endanger their safety?
The Nova broadcaster was helping co-host Kate Ritchie make a costume for her daughter Mae for Book Week when he cut his thumb
He was promptly rushed to hospital for emergency surgery, with the radio star now beginning a months-long rehabilitation to ensure there is no permanent damage.
Wippa later also shared a video and photos from the hospital online.
In the carousel, he could be seen lying in a hospital bed with his hand tightly bandaged.
He then made a video of his hospital outfit, showing off the “fancy” doctor’s coat and compression stockings he had to wear.
“I just thought I’d quickly get ready for hand surgery,” he joked.
‘I love this dress, it’s very medical chic, which is beautiful. The tone of it. It fits and hangs off my shoulder, making it look very soft.”
Wippa has three children of his own – sons Theodore, nine, Jack, eight, and daughter Francesca, four – whom he shares with wife Lisa Wipfli.
