LUCY Wales withdrew from Hawthorn's round 10 match against Port Adelaide last season with suspected appendicitis, going to the local hospital in the South Australian city for a half-hour keyhole surgery.
She woke up in ICU five hours later, missing 7cm of her bowel.
The star Hawks ruck has detailed for the first time the extraordinarily scary run of events that initially derailed her 2025 season, when a follow-up surgery was needed involving the removal of a further 15cm of bowel due to the initial anastomosis site leaking, and potentially needing a stoma bag.
Now fully fit and ready to fire ahead of the 2026 NAB AFLW season, Wales has regained the 11kg she lost over the entire ordeal.
"The game was on a Friday night and I just had a bit of a sore stomach. Hadn't slept too well the night before because of the sore stomach keeping me up a bit, so I just went to our doctor, Laura (McDonald-Wedding), to get some Panadol for the game," Wales told AFL.com.au.
"She assessed me and wanted to take it a bit further, so we went to get bloods and an ultrasound. The bus left for the game, and I went in a car to the ultrasound, with the idea that if it was all clear, I'd get to the game an hour before the bounce.
"The ultrasound suggested an enlarged appendix, so acute appendicitis. I got admitted to hospital. We couldn't do surgery that night as I'd been eating to prepare for the game – I'd been downing crumpets, banana and honey, everything before the game.
"I watched the game that night in hospital, planned to get surgery the next day. Was supposed to be a 30-minute keyhole basic appendix removal, turned out to be about a five-hour surgery and woke up in ICU, having no idea what had happened. It did not go to plan.
"It turned out it wasn't just an enlarged appendix, it was a burst appendix, and it had been burst for about five days. Unfortunately the pain was tolerable so I wasn’t able to act on any symptoms sooner.”
Hawthorn AFLW Football Operations Manager Rachael Leeson had remained in Adelaide with Wales as she underwent her operation, so was there to comfort Wales when she awoke, groggy and disoriented in the equipment-stuffed ICU ward, rather than the calmer recovery room.
Wales' appendix had been burst for so long it had made an abscess which connected to her bowel. Not only did all the remaining parts of the appendix need to be removed, but 7cm of bowel (a mix of large and small) needed to come with it.
"Two of my closest friends, Emily Everist and Keely Coyne, had happened to stay over an extra day, so they came to visit me, and my mum – who's also a nurse – flew over by Monday," Wales said.
"I was stuck in hospital in Adelaide for a week – I went in on Friday and came home the following Saturday.
"You can't eat after bowel surgery, and for me it was about six days. It was just a clear fluid diet – lemonade and apple juice. I'll never have apple juice again.
"Once I was off the clear fluid diet, it was pretty much a free-for-all, although I was eating basic foods initially. Once the week in hospital was over, and the medication was making me feel very ill, I was able to eat pretty well. I think I got Mum to go get me a pasta for my first meal.
"My mum being a nurse was very helpful – she got me up and moving every day, even when I was in tears or didn't want to. She looked after me really well as it all felt really hard."
Incredibly, a possible return to football was still on the cards, should the Hawks go deep enough in finals.
After a week on the couch at home, the AFLW season had reached its final round, and Wales had her eye on a preliminary final comeback.
"I was doing a little bit of running here and there, but very minimal. I've got a big scar down the middle of the stomach, so the cardio and running came easier than the gym," Wales said.
"As you can imagine, you use the core in every movement, and I basically had none of it because they sliced straight through it. I was able to do most bike sessions, but I never really was able to work up to a decent weight."
Hawthorn never did qualify for that preliminary final, but it was a moot point, because a few days before the club's qualifying final loss, Wales was near-writhing in agony.
Given her ridiculously high pain threshold saw her unaware of a burst appendix for five days, it was clear that something was now desperately wrong.
"It was found that the anastomosis site – where they joined the bowel back together initially – was actually leaking fluid into my abdomen. The pain couldn't be subsided with strong meds, so I had to have an emergency operation that day,” Wales said.
"The surgeon took out 15cm of my bowel, and joined it back together again, and cleaned up the infection that was in there as well. It basically hadn't healed properly from the first surgery and the part where they'd put the bowel back together had split open again.
"I was warned about the potential for a stoma before I went under, but luckily I escaped without one. With the large bowel, you've got a lot to work with, it's metres long, so that's not the concern. But the infection was attached to both bowels, and the small one was where I had the potential for a stoma.
"I went into my first operation thinking it was just going to be a 30-minute surgery, so I wasn't bothered about it at all. But this one was scary, and the pain was something else.
"I ended up spending another week on the ward at the local hospital with a specialised colorectal team. It was another week on a clear fluid diet, I was back to apple juice and lemonade. It was a lot harder the second time, because I'd already done it once, and I feared there might be a third."
But the second surgery did the trick, and Wales was able to spend the rest of November and December properly resting and recovering.
"I had the girls coming over all the time, school friends as well. My sister (Essendon ruck Steph) was over a lot, I spent a lot of time at home and my brothers were there too, so that was nice – I felt like I was able to fully relax," she said.
"Being able to fully de-load and take the time I needed to get well and healthy, meant when it hit Feb, I was able to fully attack my running and gym.
"I went to New Zealand with some school friends in late Feb, went over to Perth with my sister and Emily Everist. I just really enjoyed getting back into training to be honest, because it felt like I was getting back into normality. I love coming in here, it's nice having the new facility.
"I was able to lift some decent weights by March. I'm doing full training, and I definitely don't feel out of place. The medical staff, (and strength and conditioning coaches) Aaron Kellett and Emma Jones have been great in assisting me and gradually increasing my loads, which I've been able to do without introducing any new injuries.
"My bowels are as good as they will be. I haven't had to change my diet too much, I just have to be a bit more mindful when I drink coffee. I've learned to live with it now, there's been a few minor changes, but it hasn't been too hard to manage."
