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It involved a handful of false starts, but Nic White enjoyed last year what many athletes do not: a fairytale farewell.
Just a few months after the Wallabies halfback retired, however, he found himself living in a horror post-script when he suffered a serious infection following leg surgery and contracted the life-threatening condition, sepsis.
In severe cases, sepsis can have a 50 per cent mortality rate and can be fatal in under 24 hours if not treated promptly.
“It was probably a couple of days and nights there in hospital that were a bit touch and go,” White says.
White underwent intensive treatment, spent a month in hospital and, eight months on, is still taking medication. But the 35-year-old is also finally picking up the plan he originally laid out for his post-playing career, as an assistant coach for the Western Force.
Ahead of the Force’s last-round game against the Waratahs in Perth, White shared his frightening battle with illness and the valuable perspective he gained – albeit painfully – during a time of tough transition for many athletes.
END OF WALLABIES CAREER
After winning a recall to the Wallabies side for the third Lions Test in Sydney last year, White also announced he would be hanging up the boots thereafter, bringing to an end a 16-year, 78-Test career.
The pugnacious halfback went out on top, or so it seemed, after the Wallabies beat the Lions in the wet at Accor Stadium. But injury issues in the Test squad hit the pause button on White’s retirement, and he was asked to play on for a few more weeks.
White started in Australia’s historic win over the Springboks in Johannesburg (their first there since 1963), and in a narrow loss in Cape Town. After two more thrilling Tests against Argentina in Townsville and Sydney, and countless Johnny Farnham “last tour” jokes, White finally finished up in September.
“F—, I am gonna miss it,” White posted.
SURGERY COMPLICATIONS
White had booked in for an ‘osteotomy’ operation in October in Perth, to fix his famously bowed legs. He had both shins and a femur straightened, via a toolbox full of plates and screws.
“And all went well, I was flying. But about five weeks post-operation, I got an infection and I probably left it a little bit too long to get sorted,” White said. “Maybe that’s the extra rugby player in me, it went a bit far.
“It got quite bad, to the point where I got sepsis and it got to my lungs and and throat, and pretty close to the heart, which was pretty scary.”
You have likely read the term sepsis recently, given it was the cause of champion NASCAR driver Kyle Busch’s sudden death last week, just six days after his last race. The 41-year-old had had untreated pneumonia for “days to weeks”.
Sepsis is the body’s extreme and highly dangerous inflammatory response to an infection that can damage its own tissues and organs. According to the Australian Sepsis Network, sepsis is the leading cause of death from infection around the world and of 84,000 Australians affected each year, 12,000 will die.
White was fortunate. He was treated in time.
“I spent the best part of a month in hospital, and got back on my feet,” White said. “I had an awesome infection specialist look after me and, and was on IV antibiotics for quite a while, and still am on antibiotics now. I’ve been on three different IV blocks of antibiotics.
“The infection unfortunately came back in our second trial game [in January], and I ended up in hospital again for about a week and a half. They removed the plates and I went back on the antibiotics, and we got onto it early that time.”
White lost 12 kilograms during his illness but has slowly recovered this year, and had another round of surgery six weeks ago to replace some metal work. Always one of the shortest Wallabies running around at 175cm, White jokes that the silver lining is he is now a few centimetres taller.
“I am feeling really good,” White said. “I got a green light to get back on my feet and, all things going well, in a couple of weeks’ time the doctor will give me the green light to start running again.
“It all looks like it’s behind me now, which is good. But it’s something I’ll just have to monitor for the next at least 12 months. Sepsis can stay dormant and then rear its ugly head again, so I just have to keep an eye on it. I’ll stay on the antibiotics. Slowing down’s probably the hardest thing I’ve had to manage over the last 5 or 6 months.”
THE FUTURE
Agonisingly for an Energiser Bunny-type character with three energiser bunny sons, White has been on go-slow orders and spent time in a wheelchair during his recovery. He is hugely thankful for the support of his wife Melissa, and three boys Leo, Sonny and Vin, in helping him get through, and to the Force management and coaching teams as well.
White was due to be on the field as a full-time assistant coach this year but until recently, had been largely restricted to helping via laptop analysis and coaching meetings. He still chats with Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt, and also recently put his toe in the water as a pundit for Stan Sport.
“Last week was my first week where I was with the boys all week on my feet for the first time, which was quite exciting,” White said. “This year hasn’t quite gone to plan, but it puts things in perspective pretty quick as well, on a lot of fronts, with family and footy.
“A lot of people ask me things like, ‘Oh, do you miss the game?’ I’m like, ‘No, not at all. Man, I’m flat stick just getting healthy again.’ I know the struggles that people have post-career, and that may be ahead of me, but look, I think I’m also one of the very lucky ones.”
White has had an up-close perspective of the transition of NRL convert Zac Lomax.
“He has just thrown himself absolutely into wanting to learn everything there is about the game,” White said. “I tell you what, his ability to and uptake, to take in knowledge and execute like he has, it’s been pretty impressive. I can see him being in the conversation [for Wallabies selection], for sure.”
Like NSW, the Force can’t make the finals, having paid the price for a poor first half of the season. But five wins from the last seven games has still given them huge momentum ahead of next year.
“Like, most guys probably look back at that Lions series and are gutted with how the series went, but because we finished on a high [in Sydney], we’re able to ride that momentum into a little bit [into South Africa],” White says by way of analogy.
“That’s the opportunity the boys have this week. To go out there and finish. Whatever it is in life, it’s the way you leave it that impacts massively on how you remember it.”
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