Whispers of the reaper

Throat hit that nearly killed Proctor left him with a new voice

TITANS forward Kevin Proctor says he feared for his life as he recalled the terror of a fractured throat that left him coughing up blood and unable to breathe.

Proctor has been cleared by doctors to take his place in the Titans side for their opening round clash against Canberra on Sunday week after missing the entire pre-season with his damaged throat.

It has been a harrowing six weeks for the Kiwi Test forward, who now can’t even recognise his own voice. Yesterday he spoke of the innocuous training incident that threatened his NRL career.

Sounding like a Kiwi version of Darren Lockyer, the gravel-voiced Proctor revealed a simple collision with Titans teammate Brenko Lee in preseason could have been fatal.

“That (death) was the worst case, so I’m glad I’m OK,” Proctor said. “The doctors said it could have been much worse. They said my throat could have swelled right up and I would have suffocated.

“It was pretty serious. I had to go to ICU (Intensive Care Unit) for the first night in hospital. They were being cautious.”

Newcastle forward Rory Kostjasyn was forced into retirement last year by a fractured throat and, as he waited nervously in hospital, Proctor admits his career flashed before his eyes.

“All I kept thinking about was that (Kostjasyn’s career being over),” he said.

“As soon as the doctor came out, I said: ‘Will I play football again?’ And they said: ‘Yes.’

“As soon as they said that, I was sweet. I don’t care about having a husky voice ... my missus likes it actually.

“We were doing a contact session and I got an accidental elbow straight to the throat. Brenko Lee got me so I have his name marked down. He got me flush in the throat and I’ve got three fractures in it.

“At first I didn’t realise how serious it was.

“I tried to go back out and train and I remember having a drink of water and I could feel the bones in there cracking. I thought geez, that’s not good. I was coughing up blood. Then I thought, s***, this isn’t good at all. The trainer said let’s get in the car and they took me to hospital.”

■ THE Titans announced yesterday they had released utility Karl Lawton from his three-year contract so he can join the Warriors.