As Eli Katoa continues to recover following emergency surgery to drain fluid from his brain, Kiwis utility Te Maire Martin has stressed there are key differences to the brain bleed that forced him to retire in 2020 and what the Storm star is going through amid fears of his immediate playing future.<\/p>\n
Katoa remains in hospital after suffering \u201cseizure activity\u201d on the bench during Tonga\u2019s Pacific Championships loss to New Zealand earlier this month following three head knocks in the space of two hours.<\/p>\n
The world\u2019s best edge forward suffered a sickening collision with teammate Lehi Hopoate in the warm-up but was cleared by medical staff who didn\u2019t see the disturbing footage that was broadcast.<\/p>\n
Katoa was then forced off early in the match for a head injury assessment, which he passed, before another head knock in the second half ruled him out of the contest.<\/p>\n
The back-rower required an oxygen mask on the bench and was rushed from the stadium to hospital, with Katoa posting a message on Instagram thanking fans for reaching out. <\/p>\n
The NRL has been investigating the incident, with a spokesperson providing this statement last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur first priority is the health of Eliesa Katoa,\u201d it read. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe NRL chief medical officer is monitoring his condition and is in close contact with the medical experts involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NRL is currently reviewing the circumstances of Sunday\u2019s events in line with usual practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin didn\u2019t want to compare his situation to what Katoa was going through given there were some key differences to the health issues that forced him to retire in 2020, with suggestions last week that the Storm star may have played his last game given the serious health risks.<\/p>\n
Martin felt that something wasn\u2019t right during the warm-up to a round 7 match against the Bulldogs in 2019 but played on, with his condition deteriorating on the plane trip back to Townsville.<\/p>\n
Martin was eventually forced to retire nine months later after he wasn\u2019t cleared to do contact work, with doctors unable to work out what caused it. <\/p>\n
There is hope for Katoa given Martin was able to return to rugby league with the Broncos in 2022, but the playmaker didn\u2019t want to make any assumptions on a completely different case. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnything to do with something with the brain is scary,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe doctors and physios and all the special stuff we get these days look after that. I haven\u2019t really looked into how it happened or the small details of it. But I know when you\u2019re dealing with anything with the brain, you have to get it sorted straight away and get the experts\u2019 advice. <\/p>\n
\u201cLuckily with the NRL we have avenues to good sources of those things, like brain specialists. He will be in good hands, it\u2019s just unfortunate because you never want anything like that to happen to anyone. Hopefully, he is all right.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was 50-50 (for me to come back). Because they didn\u2019t know what happened or why it happened, they didn\u2019t know if it was going to happen again. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think Eli\u2019s whack to the head … If I got whacked in the head it would be easy (for doctors to say) don\u2019t get whacked in the head again and you won\u2019t get a brain bleed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut because I didn\u2019t, I took the other route the way I went. But there are specialists everywhere, and that\u2019s their job (to advise).\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin\u2019s condition improved after two years when his headaches started to disappear, but it\u2019s unclear what the path ahead looks like for Katoa. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s why Martin is happy to help out if he wants some support, with the playmaker suggesting Katoa finds some things away from rugby league to help him through the recovery. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know him too well,\u201d Martin said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had a few people reach out (from other sports) to me along those lines and how it happened and the comeback. If he reached out to me, I would happily give him some advice. He\u2019s probably getting bombarded with messages.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a good support network. I wasn\u2019t too ingrained in footy, so it wasn\u2019t too bad. I had other things I could do outside of footy I could do. I have always loved hunting, so as long as I could still hunt I was happy. <\/p>\n
\u201cI had so many hobbies away from the game that I know got taken away, but I was still happy. I don\u2019t know what he has or what his other things are, but I know if you are just footy 24-7, it would be hard. I was lucky enough that I had other hobbies that I enjoyed.\u201d<\/p>\n