"I didn't want to die in front of my parents or family" - Ireland all-rounder Simi Singh opens up on fighting back during successful liver transplant
Indian-born Ireland all-rounder Simi Singh admitted he wasn't sure of surviving his acute liver failure but fought back for his family in his first conversation after a successful liver transplant. TOI had reported in the first week of September that the 37-year-old was battling for life due to acute liver failure and that he was waiting for a liver transplant at the Medanta Hospital ICU at Gurgaon.
Finally, Simi Singh posted on his Instagram handle last week about having a successful liver transplant and being on the path to recovery.
For the uninitiated, Simi was unwell a few months back in Ireland and came to India in June for treatment. After his initial diagnosis at PGI Chandigarh, he was referred to the Medanta Hospital.
In an interview for TOI, Simi Singh opened up on the entire process and his fighting death thoughts to successfully recover.
"The night I was being taken to Medanta, I was coming in and out of my senses. I started to lose consciousness. I didn't have any control over my body, that's when I thought my time had come. I am done. I will die. I wasn't sure I would make it. The thing that kept me going was my will to fight back, especially for my family. I didn't want to die in front of my parents or family," said Simi.
He also praised his wife Agamdeep Kaur, who donated a part of her liver for the successful transplant, by saying:
"Right from the start, she told me 'I wouldn't let anything happen to you'. After the surgery when I found out she had donated her liver, I was really emotional. Both of us have to be strong now, get over recovery thing and get back to normal life for our son who is three years old. Hopefully when we get back to normalcy, we can travel to somewhere nice so that we can forget this terrible episode," added Simi.
Simi last played for Ireland in the 2022 T20 World Cup and has been out of favor across formats since.
"My background as a sportsperson made me not call it quits" - Simi Singh
Simi Singh added that his sporting background helped him believe despite the feeling of death knocking on his door.
The spin-bowling all-rounder was a regular in the Ireland white-ball sides from 2017 to 2022.
"My background as a sportsman made me not call it quits, not give up. When you are playing cricket, you are challenged with different situations. You are out of your comfort zone. Such experiences help you to pull through those situations when you are struggling, and you feel death is knocking on your door," said Simi.
He continued:
"The doctors also said that my background as a top-level sportsperson helped me to get out of the ventilator quickly. This was due to the physical fitness I had done over the years. My lungs were strong, and I was able to breathe normally soon."
Simi Singh also thanked all his Ireland teammates, coaches, and friends in the team - George Dockrell, Andrew Balbirnie, and Harry Tector for their constant support through messages.
The 37-year-old has played 53 T20Is and 35 ODIs for Ireland, picking up 83 wickets and scoring almost 900 runs.