Ray Hadley has revealed his daughter has been rushed to hospital for the second time in six months amid an ongoing battle with a painful condition that often leaves her unable to walk.
The 2GB star opened up on his 22-year-old daughter Sarah’s battle with endometriosis in an effort to raise more awareness of it. He admitted he hadn’t spoken about it previously because he wanted to protect her privacy, but her latest health scare had prompted her to tell him that something finally needed to be done about it.
Endometriosis is a painful condition that occurs when cells similar to those that line the uterus are found in other parts of the body. If left untreated, and in worst cases, it can affect a woman’s reproductive organs. Sadly it affects one in nine Australian women, 2GB revealed, with the average diagnosis taking seven to 10 years.
“My daughter was rushed to hospital for the second time in the last six months,” Ray revealed on air on Friday. “She’s been putting up with it for a couple of years, a bit longer possibly, and I haven’t mentioned it because it’s her health concerns, not mine. But she said to me yesterday ‘dad, someone’s got to do something about this’.”
He went on to explain: “She suffers dreadfully with pain, she can’t walk, her legs just give out on her. She’s going in next week for a second bout of surgery, it’s just terrible.” Ray revealed the condition is “as common as things like diabetes and asthma”.
Medical Director of Endometriosis Australia Professor Jason Abbott appeared on the show to discuss it with Ray, telling him the disorder mainly affects women between the ages of 15 to 44.
“It can affect younger girls so we do see it in girls as young as eight and it does go on after menopause sometimes,” he said. “It is as common as things like diabetes and asthma.”
The discussion prompted an outpouring of support from listeners, as Ray shared a photo of his daughter on the 2GB website. One person commented: “That’s so bad I get it to the point where I literally pass out and I’m bed ridden all day the pain can get that bad where some times I feel like I need to go to the doctors but I think it’s just normal we all go through it but reading up on this lately I think I need a check up.”
Another added: “I had to have a hysterectomy at age 28 because of this awful condition. Never been so glad to have an operation!” and one wrote: “It’s a horrible thing, I have it. I got addicted to pain killers 20 years ago. Having kids helped a bit but at 49 it still cripples me some months.”
And it comes after Ray opened up on his own recent health scare which landed him in hospital, explaining he actually also suffered from the blood infection known as sepsis and was forced to stay under the care of professionals for a prolonged period of time. The radio host was forced to cut his segment on 2GB short recently when he experienced a medical emergency brought on by diverticulitis. The medical condition is something which Ray has battled with for some time now, causing small pockets called diverticulosis appearing in the wall of the bowel.
People with the condition can experience a range of symptoms including abdominal pain, fever, nausea and a change in bowel habits. Following the attack Ray was kept under strict monitoring in hospital, with the 64-year-old later explaining he also developed sepsis.
Bringing attention to World Sepsis Day at the time, Ray said it made him feel disoriented and confused, but unlike others was thankfully diagnosed quickly and treated immediately. “All of a sudden I felt disoriented, I felt confused, I didn’t know what I was saying and I removed myself from the radio program,” he explained to his listeners.
“[My specialist] started treating it immediately. The outcome for me was wonderful. I was out of hospital by Saturday and returned to work on Monday.” Sepsis can be incredibly dangerous with the infection sometimes leading to shock, organ failure or worse, death.