Ponting is a doting father to three children.
Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting has opened up about his son’s terrifying near-death experiences when he thought his son Fletcher has died after he had contracted an infection during hernia surgery.
Fletcher, who is currently a five-year-old, has fought death twice, the first when he was just eight months old back then when he won a desperate battle with meningitis – inflammation of the brain and spinal cord membranes, typically caused by an infection – spending weeks in ICU.
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Recalling the fatal and terrifying experience, Ponting – who was a ruthless cricketer who wanted to win at all costs, said being a father it was the horrific experience for him when he was helpless to see his son battle for life as around 15 doctors and nurses were pressed into action to save the kid’s life.
Ponting told The Herald Sun: “He was just limp. I thought to myself, ‘He’s gone!’ Every nurse and doctor from the level rushed into the room at the same time – it was like a code red.”
The MRSA infection becomes life-threatening if it spreads to the lungs and bloodstream and one of the most successful cricket captains further noted: “It’s where your mind goes. Your body goes numb. You are helpless. There’s nothing scarier. I thought he was going to come out with his whole right side cut out. Luckily, they got it before it got into his flesh and took over his body.”
Recalling one of the moments that changed him forever, Ponting added: “We got to the chemotherapy ward where there was a 13-year-old boy... and he's attached to all these machines and tubes are coming out of him. He must have been a cricket fan.”
He signed off by saying, “I got up close to the glass, he saw me by the window and he sat up in bed and his face lit up. Once we got out the front both of us just started bawling our eyes out at what we'd just seen. ‘That was the line in the sand. It was, Right, now we've got to help these people.”
Since the terrifying incident, the legendary cricketer has been involved in charity work and his foundation helps young Australians and their families beat cancer both emotionally and financially.
(With The Herald Sun Inputs)