- Johnson says he hoped he would wake up after the surgery
- Doctors said there were no guarantees before the operation
- Johnson accidentally stabbed himself while opening the gate
Geelong hero Steve Johnson has revealed doctors told him there was a chance he would die after he was rushed to hospital following a strange self-inflicted wound with a very sharp knife.
The former superstar goalkeeper spent Monday evening in a Wangaratta hospital, 250 kilometers northwest of Melbourne, after suffering a serious stomach wound when a knife in a bag he was carrying pierced his abdomen.
The knife made contact with a gate he opened at his home, then pierced the bag and then entered his stomach.
Fortunately for Johnson, a man who works as a nurse walked by his house and applied pressure to the wound.
Steve Johnson (pictured playing for Geelong in 2015) has spoken about his close call after accidentally stabbing himself
The footy star suffered a life-threatening injury (pictured) and was lucky a nurse was present at the time
“It was the first time it occurred to you or was in that mentality, ‘Maybe I’m going to die here,’” Johnson said. News Corp.
“Before he (his wife) had surgery, Erin said to one of the doctors, ‘What’s going on?’ And they said there were no guarantees.”
‘It’s not 100 percent certain that I’ll be okay. So before I had the surgery, I thought, “I hope I wake up.”
‘I’m so incredibly grateful that the nurse, Jason, was there, who had a calm mind and happened to be walking past our house because it’s a very quiet street and it’s unusual to see someone walking past.
“But he saved me, along with the medical staff at Wangaratta Hospital, so thank you so much to all those people and my family, including my wife Erin.”
Johnson, one of the greatest goalkeepers in modern football, suffered damage to his intestines and remained in hospital on Tuesday evening, although he is expected to make a full recovery.
The knife involved in the incident was recently given to Johnson by a friend who is a butcher. The Cats used it to cut his son Archie’s birthday cake.
“It was just really bizarre how it happened,” he said.
Johnson (pictured with his children) said the situation was so serious he feared he might not survive the operation
The great Geelong is forever grateful to the hospital staff and his quick-thinking neighbor
“We went into the house, but my little girl couldn’t open the gate, so I was holding a bag and pushing against it (to open the gate), but the knife was in that bag.
‘It just came straight to me.
“At the same time, it just so happened that this couple was walking by the front, and one of them was a nurse.
“I yelled, ‘Quick, Erin, jump in the car and take me to the hospital.’ I said, “The knife went through my stomach.”
‘Then the guy said to me, “I’m a nurse, let me come help,” and he grabbed a towel and told us to put as much pressure on it as possible.
“He took me to the hospital and called them on the way and they knew who he was and he explained everything. He said it was a serious injury and that I needed surgery immediately.”
The former Cats and Giants star has scored 516 goals across 293 games in the AFL.
Johnson now works as a Triple M commentator and recently underwent surgery to straighten his leg after suffering a number of injuries during his career.
He won three premierships with Geelong and had a prolific coaching career after playing.