Nathan Stapleton's eye irritation nearly prevented a fatal spinal injury during a rugby game, where he was pronounced dead for 16 minutes.
On April 9, 2022, a clump of dirt in the eye almost saved Nathan Stapleton's life.
Fixing a buggy on his family farm, the former Cronulla Sharks winger who played 61 NRL games, couldn't see. He nearly called off his three-hour drive to a one-off country rugby game in Boorowa.
Instead, he bought eye drops at the chemist and kept driving.
Hours later, Stapleton went to dive for the ball when his head was trapped in a ruck, which led to a severe C4-level spinal cord injury.