Radio star’s horror fall
Hawaii accident a blank for ‘voice of cricket’.
Top cricket commentator Bryan Waddle has told how he “dodged a bullet” after suffering a horror fall while holidaying in Hawaii.
The much-loved veteran Radio Sport broadcaster, known as “the voice of New Zealand cricket”, drifted in and out of consciousness for 48 hours after the accident.
And three months on, he still suffers the effects of concussion.
Waddle, 68, lost vision in one eye for weeks and has had a handrail installed at his Wellington home to stop him falling down the stairs.
He is now on the road to recovery, however, thanks to quick actions of his wife and daughter, and top medical care.
Waddle is unable to remember the July 11 accident, but had got up from bed at around 2am on a hot night.
“I assume I got out to have a drink of water because there was water on the table beside where they picked me up from.”
Wife Clare, and their daughter, Emma, 20, heard a crash and found Waddle “out cold” on the lounge/dining room floor of their fifth-floor Waikiki holiday apartment. He had struck the back of his head on the table. Blood was seeping from his ear.
“I can’t begin to imagine what they went through at that time of the night in a foreign country,” Waddle said.
“It was quite traumatic for them.” But they kept calm, placed him in the recovery position and summoned the emergency services.
“My wife and my daughter were absolutely amazing.”
When he came around in a local hospital the first thing Waddle saw was his eldest son, Chris, a police officer in the Nevada city of Reno, walk into his room.
“And I thought to myself, ‘Hello, is it over?’ I thought I was on borrowed time.”
Waddle said his treatment at the hospital was superb.
“I didn’t do too much talking, which people think is quite strange for me, being a talker. I think it was probably a self-confidence thing — you don’t know what you’re facing.”
There was one uncertainty he didn’t have to confront.
“I had travel insurance — that is the best thing I ever did.”
After 10 days in hospital Waddle was cleared to fly back to New Zealand. He underwent a “very busy” therapy programme, including treatment at a rehabilitation centre for people with traumatic brain injuries.
He initially had severe headaches and fatigue. Particularly worrying was the temporary loss of vision in his left eye, which returned about a month ago.
Waddle, who has called matches around the world during his 36-year broadcasting career, put his eyesight to the test this week at Wellington’s Basin Reserve during the Plunket Shield match between Wellington and Auckland.
“[I] sat up in the commentary box and thankfully I could see the ball in the outfield, and [moving] around I could follow it.
“I’m feeling almost back towards 100 [per cent].”
He returned to Radio Sport last week on a light schedule and was “up and ready to go” to call the first test between New Zealand and the West Indies starting December 1.
Waddle was still being treated for lingering effects of his concussion, including having lost his sense of taste and smell.
Another side effect was being unable to hear in his right ear when he eats.
“I go deaf. And then the moment I stop eating, my hearing’s perfect. I’ve got a newfound understanding of rugby players who undergo concussion. It’s not a pleasant experience.”
He had been on holiday for just two days when he had his accident. Now he says he owes his wife and daughter “a decent holiday!”