"Coughed up blood, couldn't breathe": Jensen's sobering blood clot update

Brisbane Broncos prop Corey Jensen is adamant he will return to the field this season as he continues to navigate the physical and mental challenges that came as a result of the pulmonary embolism which left him in hospital last month.

Speaking on SENQ Breakfast, the veteran revealed the clots on his lungs could have had a far worse outcome had he not received medical attention when he did.

Jensen took to the field for the Broncos victory over the Tigers last month despite feeling a fair level of discomfort.

At the time he believed his breathlessness was down to something viral and he wanted to push through for his teammates.

It was after the match that things went downhill very fast and he was rushed to emergency where multiple clots were discovered and he had more than a litre of fluid removed.

Now on blood thinners – which rules him out of contact training – Jensen told Corey Parker and Ian Healy he is focusing on overcoming the mental challenges more so than the physical.

“I’m going pretty well,” he said on Wednesday morning. “Getting better each day. Still some hurdles to overcome, I’m still seeing specialists, but I hope to get onto the field in the back half of the year. But I’m feeling positive each day.

“The night before the Tigers game I had a bit of soreness in the side but thought nothing of it, I found it very difficult to breathe. At the time I thought it was a viral infection. My mindset was to get through it for the team.

“After the game I coughed off a fair bit of blood and went to hospital, I was very lucky when you look back. It could have been so much worse. I’m remaining positive. Whatever the experts say I will run with.

“I’ll get through it.”

Asked if he had any clarity on what had led to the clots he continued: “It’s an unknown at the moment. With my condition it’s not common. The specialists say a lot of the time they don’t find out why people get these clots.

“Oftentimes they form in the legs and work their way up to the lungs but mine formed in the lungs so it’s a rare situation.

“For me it’s a case of going back and seeing what they recommend I do. I’m on blood thinners for three months which puts me out of contact work. I’m trying to keep myself in the best condition to get back out there with the boys.”

Describing what he had endured is sobering for anyone, particularly for a professional athlete.

“They (doctors) said my right lung was full, it was pretty serious and there was a small one to the left.

“The right side was the most painful, that gave me the biggest issue and the first four or five days in hospital were tough physically and mentally. Now it’s more the mental side of things dealing with what can and could happen.

“I lost close to 10kgs; it was pretty confronting. I had over a litre of fluid drained from my lungs. It had a big impact on me. It wasn’t a pleasant time. But tribute to the people that looked after me and got me back to where I am now. It’s the mental hurdles at the moment.

“I don’t know what the fluid was but it was putting a lot of strain on the right side. It made it difficult to breathe. I was on oxygen for a few days, even showering I was struggling to breathe.”