Former Power captain Dom Cassisi with daughter Eva. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: Sunday Mail (SA)
THE illness hit Dom Cassisi like a sledgehammer.
One day he was looking forward to a break in pre-season training and spending a second Christmas with his 18-month-old daughter, Eva.
The next he was struggling to get out of bed and felt like he had been through 10 rounds with Muhammad Ali.
"It was the worst pain I had ever experienced," said the former Port Adelaide skipper, breaking his silence on his secret pre-Christmas battle with the life-threatening viral meningitis.
"The headaches were crippling, they were so bad they felt like concussions.
"They came one after another and were almost unbearable. There's no doubt I was pretty sick there for a while."
Twelve-year Power veteran Cassisi said what began as a mild fever and he thought was the start of the flu saw him quickly deteriorate and within two days he was rushed to the emergency department at Wakefield Hospital.
"I went home from training because I was a bit feverish and then all of a sudden I got these really bad headaches," he recalled.
"They would last for about half an hour and then clear and then come back again, so I was pretty much bedridden.
Port Adelaide's Dom Cassisi in action against Fremantle Dockers last year. Picture: Sarah Reed.
"I was waiting for the headaches to go away but they just wouldn't.
"In bright light the pain became so unbearable I would almost pass out and become incoherent.
"It was a pretty worrying time for me and my wife (Maiya)."
Power club doctor Mark Fisher, who had been visiting Cassisi at home to monitor his health, decided he couldn't wait any longer and sent the 30-year-old to hospital.
Fearing he had been struck down by meningitis, a disease which causes inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, and is classified as a medical emergency, doctors immediately put him on an intravenous drip.
I've never experienced anything like it ... the virus knocked me out for a month
He was administered antibiotics and given a lumbar puncture to drain fluid out of his spine.
Tests were undertaken on the fluid to determine whether Cassisi had viral meningitis or the more serious bacterial meningitis.
Fortunately it was the former.
But Cassisi was still violently ill.
He spent four days in hospital recovering and estimates he lost at least 6kg in weight before being released on Christmas morning so he could spend the day with his family.
"I still wasn't feeling great so I couldn't eat much for lunch," Cassisi said.
"But I was just over the moon to be back at home with Maiya and my little one on such a special day."
Cassisi said it took another two to three weeks and "a few more bad headaches" before he felt "fully well".
"I've never experienced anything like it," he said.
"Overall the virus probably knocked me out for about a month. It was a tough time and certainly a worrying one, especially for Maiya."
Once he recovered, Cassisi hit the gym to try to stack his weight back on.
Then once he returned to training he pinged a calf muscle which kept him out of the opening round of the NAB Cup.
"I injured myself pretty much at my first session back, so I think the fact I had missed a few weeks of training was the reason that happened," Cassisi said.
"It's a little bit of a setback but I'm feeling pretty good now and can't wait to get back out there with the boys again.
"But at this stage of the year I won't rush back. I need to make sure I get a full four-week block of solid training in before I play a game.
"This is a big year for me and the club so I don't want any more hiccups before Round 1."
andrew.capel@news.com.au
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