TV host John Burgess opens up about sudden illness: “It nearly killed me”
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Famously known all over Australia as “Baby” and “Burgo”, John Burgess is one of the country's longest-serving TV game show hosts – best known for being the face and the voice for the Aussie version of the popular game shows Wheel of Fortune and Catch Phrase.
For half a century now, fans everywhere have been watching and listening to Burgo, and his familiar presence is still on our TV screens and stereos.
But that record nearly came to an end.
Earlier this year, the Aussie icon revealed that he fought a sudden illness that nearly cost him his life.
John Burgess was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital which is where he discovered he had sepsis. Credit: news.com.au.
“I kept passing out and I felt very unwell. It all happened very quickly in the space of a day or two,” said the 78-year-old host.
“As soon as I was rushed to the hospital, they did a blood test and discovered I had sepsis.”
“It nearly killed me.”
“They caught it just in time. Any longer and my organs would have started to shut down,” said Burgess, recalling his near-death experience at the hospital.
He was thankful that the doctors managed to deal with the bacterial infection right away, and even though the reasoning behind how he caught the illness is still unknown, he was extremely grateful that he was quickly given a strong course of antibiotics.
The “Baby John” we all know and love is now back on his feet and back on the air at his beloved 6iX radio station in Perth, doing what he loves.
However, full recovery may still take up to six months, according to his doctors.
In the meantime, Mr Burgess has agreed to be an ambassador for Sepsis Australia, with the goal of spreading more awareness about the dangerous disease.
The Australian Sepsis Network describes sepsis as a life-threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to an infection, most commonly bacterial, damages its own tissues and organs.
Some symptoms include fever, difficulty in breathing, low blood pressure, an increase in heart rate, and mental confusion. If not recognised early and treated properly, it can lead to more fatal consequences, such as shock, failure of multiple organs, and even death.
To know more information about sepsis and how you can protect yourself and your family from it, watch this video below:
Credit: World Health Organisation (WHO).
