‘Could have died’: Paul Curtis makes shock reveal over life-threatening illness on holiday

North Melbourne forward Paul Curtis has revealed he had to be rushed home for emergency surgery due to a life-threatening illness while holidaying overseas.

Curtis, 22, jetted off to the UK with teammates for an off-season trip in late December before falling seriously ill with what began as the flu, before becoming something far more serious.

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“They pretty much just said I needed to be hospitalised right now,” Curtis told Channel 7’s Ryan Daniels in an interview.

Sensing something was very wrong, Curtis sought treatment at a London hospital, though he didn’t get the treatment he required.

“I waited eight hours to get seen. I went up to the front desk, and I said, like, ‘guys, I can’t breathe’,” Curtis said.

“I finally got seen, and they just gave me some stronger meds, and I was in there for 10 minutes, and they said ‘you’re all good’.”

Curtis was told he was OK to board a flight to Bali with oral antibiotics — instructions that infectious diseases expert Dr Clay Golledge on Channel 7 called “reprehensible”, adding “he could have died from this”.

While on his flight from the UK to Indonesia, Curtis suffered an allergic reaction to the antibiotics, needing to then be hospitalised in Bali, where it was revealed he had an empyema.

An empyema is a build-up of infected fluid in the area between the lungs and the inner surface of the chest wall, which has the potential to be life-threatening.

Curtis said of his ordeal: “I just swelled up; like, my face just puffed up. I had a rash all over my body, my feet swelled up, so I couldn’t walk.”

Further treatment with antibiotics in Bali was unsuccessful, with Curtis needing to be urgently evacuated to have emergency surgery in Perth.

Seven’s Ryan Daniels reports almost a litre of pus had to be removed from Curtis’ lung, with the Kangaroo remaining hospitalised in Western Australia for eight days.

Daniels added that after three months of recovery, Curtis is back on his feet and remains a possibility of playing in North Melbourne’s Round 1 clash with Port Adelaide.

The small forward is coming off a career-best season with the Roos, kicking 38 goals in 19 games and emerging as one of the competition’s better pressure forwards.

“It’s given me a good perspective on life, I guess, and how quickly things can change, and some things just aren’t in your control,” Curtis added.

“I’m just so grateful for all the people that helped me get back to where I am now.”