A Brisbane man who collapsed while playing a game of football with his friends is using his experience to spread awareness to others, after spending almost a month in hospital with bleeding on the brain from a burst blood vessel.
North Lakes Coles fruit and veg worker Enzo Cupo, 55, was playing with his local Peninsular Power Football Club on July 21 when he told his coach he wasn’t feeling great.
He was encouraged to finish the game, but then collapsed soon after he walked off the field.
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“I thought he was calling me to say that he was injured,” Cupo’s wife Suzie told 7NEWS.com.au.
“But it was a teammate calling me to say that he’d collapsed.”
A doctor who also played on Cupo’s team came to his aid and he was rushed to hospital in a critical condition.
He spent six days in ICU and then 14 days in the neurosurgical ward with an extensive subarachnoid hemorrhage, caused by a bleed on the brain from a burst blood vessel.
Teammates said he had been playing normally and had not received a head blow or injury before he collapsed.
Suzie Cupo said the first her husband knew something was wrong was when a headache “hit him like lightning”.
“He said it was the worst pain he’s ever felt, it made him fall to his knees,” she said.
Although she says her husband’s road to recovery has begun with rehabilitation for lingering symptoms, including issues with memory, speech, movement, fatigue and balance, he is also suffering from much deeper emotional effects.
“He’s scared to fall asleep in case he doesn’t wake up,” she said.
“He doesn’t want to leave the house”.
She had to stop work for awhile to care for him, with the family now struggling to pay for medical bills.
“Initially I had to leave work, I took sick leave and long service leave,” she said
“Since then I had to pick up some extra shifts and an extra job.
“We went from two wages to one. We also have a 5-year-old daughter to look after.”
The family began using their redraw to cover the mortgage.
Now the Cupo family are trying to use their experience to help spread awareness for strokes and hemorrhages.
“I want people to recognise the early signs and the risks” Suzie said.
“For Enz, there was no sign this was coming on.
“I want people to know how serious this is and if they show any symptoms to get onto it immediately.”
Colleagues and friends have organised a trivia fundraiser at Peninsular Power Football Club on September 29, as well as a GoFundMe to assist with medical costs.
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