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It's been a been a long month for Mark Richardson — and the surf coach has spent much of it in hospital.
Key points:
- Gold Coast man Mark Richardson, 51, was hospitalised with a stomach ulcer in Bali
- He was bleeding internally and struggled to get enough A negative blood
- The surf coach was evacuated to Darwin, and says he's been changed by the ordeal
Complications from a stomach ulcer had him close to death in a Balinese hospital, prompting a medical evacuation back home to Australia.
The 51-year-old said he initially thought he had a case of "Bali-belly" during his trip to the Indonesian island in September.
But his condition deteriorated, so he took himself to hospital where it was discovered he was bleeding internally.
While there, he struggled to get enough transfusions of his A-negative blood type.
So he turned to social media for help, prompting an outpouring of support — and an emergency flight from Bali to Darwin, just in time.
"When the Aussies turned up, the LifeFlight crew, I don't know how much longer I could have held on," Mr Richardson said.
"I wasn't getting anymore [blood] donations, my haemoglobin dropped way down to really low levels. I couldn't move."
In total, he spent 20 nights in hospital and had three surgeries in Australia to stem his internal bleeding.
He arrived home to the Gold Coast last week, after treatment in a Darwin hospital.
Coaching mindset
Mr Richardson said while in hospital, he did what he could to manage his mindset.
"We'll, you're pretty scared first off," he said.
"You're living hour by hour basically. You're not thinking too far ahead, because if you do, you just don't know what's going to happen.
"There was definitely some doubt there, that's for sure, [but] as an athlete you've got to change your mindset pretty quickly.
"So when the bad thoughts came into my head I just turned them around, changed the TV channel and tried to think of something positive."
Taking nothing for granted
Mr Richardson is the well-known coach of World Surf League stars including Isabella Nichols, Liam O'Brien and Callum Robson.
The surfer said he was incredibly grateful to be home on the Gold Coast and was now focused making a full recovery.
His other priority is coaching some of Australia's upcoming surfing talent, including his son Ty.
"Once I got home I said to everyone this is a new lease on life, so I'm not going to take anything for granted, I'm grateful for everything," he said.
"My coaching is right up there, that's where my energy is, then there's working with my son — he's a budding professional surfer as well."
However, he's yet to decide on whether he'll return to Bali.
"I love Bali, I love the people, I love the food, I love the waves. I definitely feel like I'll give it a break though," Mr Richardson said.
"If something does go wrong up there, they don't have my blood type, so it's quite a stress.
"It's something I'll have to look seriously at in the future."