Red alert: Raider loses litre of claretJoel Thompson laid motionless on the bathroom floor, a grim shadow of his aggressive self.
This was a Sunday morning the Canberra Raiders star would rather forget.
As would his girlfriend, Amy Martyn, who opened the bathroom door to find her 22-year-old, 97kg partner unconscious and in dire need of help.
A pale Thompson watched on from the sidelines at Raiders training yesterday, still reeling from losing an estimated 1.5 litres of blood and having a fit in hospital.
Thompson ended Saturday's 23-22 defeat to the Gold Coast Titans with bandages covering almost his entire face. A busted nose and a cut to the centre's mouth was followed by a gash over his eye which required stitches.
''I kept on going out of consciousness,'' Thompson said yesterday. ''Lucky I had my missus, she looked after me a fair bit, saved me from doing a lot more damage than what happened.
''She's still in shock, she was in tears, she couldn't believe it. It wouldn't have been the best sight for her.''
Thompson left Canberra Stadium on Saturday night hoping the slow trickle of blood would stop of its own accord.
It wasn't until he passed out in the shower that alarm bells started to ring.
Thompson was treated at Calvary Hospital in Bruce on Sunday.
His blood pressure was so low he had a fit in the emergency waiting room.
''I didn't sleep all night Saturday, just from the blood, my nose didn't stop bleeding and my mouth was also bleeding,'' he said. ''I'm slowly getting there, as you can see I'm still pretty pale.
''Hopefully [today] the tests come back and I feel all right.''
Blood tests on Tuesday revealed Thompson had lower than normal haemoglobin levels. Haemoglobin is an iron-containing compound found in the red blood cells, which transports oxygen around the body. Thompson will have further tests today to determine if he will be able to take his place in the Raiders' team to face the Penrith Panthers on Saturday night.
His current haemoglobin level of 95g/l would need to increase to at least 120g/l for Thompson to be considered for selection.
Australian Medical Association federal vice-president Dr Steve Hambleton said it wasn't uncommon for elite sportspeople to overcome a severe blood deficiency.
''Fit, healthy people can lose a lot of blood without showing too many signs,'' Dr Hambleton said.
''You give a blood donation of 500ml, and no one bats an eyelid.
''A litre is probably not out of the question for a fit, healthy athlete.
''But if you're also dehydrated, then you could have a problem.''
Thompson could still find the funny side despite the obvious discomfort, taking a light-hearted stab at Raiders trainer Leigh Woodbridge.
''There's not much I can do apart from rest and eat steak I guess,'' he said. ''I just think our trainer Woody needs to go back and learn a bit about strapping, because it was a five-year-old's job done out there. I couldn't see out of my right eye and they wanted me to do a hit-up and I couldn't see where I was running.''
Source: The Canberra Times
Topic: Red alert: Raider loses litre of claret
