Michael Pisker – Most Courageous on both sides of the fence

“The first thing on my mind was wondering how the team was doing.” 

Saturday, July 20, 2024.

It’s a date that Michael Pisker will never forget, even if his memories of the day itself are hazy at best.

St Kevin’s was hosting University Blues in a Round 12 clash at TH King Oval that will live long in the memory of all in attendance.

Fiercely competitive, Michael has always been highly regarded as a ‘team first’ character willing to sacrifice his body for the benefit of his mates. So, when a ball popped up in dispute, charging in to secure it was more instinct than choice.

But a freak collision left the 26-year-old fighting for his life as an opponent’s knee caught him flush in the eye socket, causing structural injury to his face and skull, plus traumatic injury to his eye and brain.

“I’ve only got a few vague memories of the day,” reflects Michael.

“I have a weird memory of looking over at Shaun Kennedy on the bench and noticing he had his boots off. I’d find out about a month later that he’d done his ACL.

“But I don’t remember anything of the incident. I’m pretty glad I don’t, to be honest.”

Michael received immediate medical attention and was rushed to the Alfred Hospital, with SKOB Committeeman Peter Murray in tow to provide the club with a clear line of communication as to Michael’s progress without bothering the family.

“The remaining quarter and a bit were strange,” recalls St Kevin’s President, Patrick Mount.

“It was clear that no player from either team wanted to be out there after Michael went off. It was a pretty subdued mood in the after-match, but we didn’t have any more information about Michael’s condition until we were getting into the car to go to the hospital. That was our first realisation that things may be getting a lot more serious.”

Another phone call from Peter shortly after confirmed the doctors’ fears that Michael would be permanently blind in his right eye, with substantial surgery & other things to come. So when we walked into the hospital, we knew this was going to be pretty emotional.

“The doctors had significant concerns about his condition for the first 24 hours. He was very lucky to have received excellent care from the outset.”

Michael would spend the next 17 days in a coma as the St Kevin’s, VAFA & Victorian football communities rallied behind him in his fight for life.

“I’ve always been a competitive person,” says Michael, who has been recovering at home since September.

“But I was born in Sydney, so I didn’t even know what footy was until I moved to Melbourne at the age of 5. It was the thing to do at school – play ‘markers up,’ and a mate came along one day with an invitation to join Prahran junior footy club and I’ve loved it ever since.”

Starting in the Under 11s, Michael progressed to play for Prahran Assumption, including three senior Division 1 games in 2016 after his school season with St Kevin’s was completed.

“I always had the desire to play at the highest level I could,” said Michael.

“Prahran were Division 1 at that stage, and I had a bunch of schoolmates join SKOB’s Under 19s in 2017, so I went along with them. The club means so much to me. It’s been like a big family, and everything I thought it meant to me was displayed this season.”

As the severity of Michael’s condition begins to emerge, Mount, senior coach Anthony ‘Plugger’ Lynch and a small group of senior players realise they need an action plan. “Nothing could have possibly prepared anyone for this,” said Mount.

“As a volunteer at a local footy club, there’s no guidebook to guide you. The situation took a more dramatic turn the longer it went. We knew it required hospitalisation, but no-one expected it to go down the path it did. Suddenly we were thinking on the run and adapting to the situation as it worsened.”

They schedule an emergency phone conference with the players to get them up to speed with the latest information.

“It was really important that they receive first-hand information rather than second or third-hand info doing the rounds.”

The team then assembles in person for an emergency meeting the next day.

“It was a major shock and safe to say that the mood in the room was very sombre, guys very rattled,” Mount recalls.

“It was a very tough conversation to have. We were all hoping for the best but didn’t have lot of answers. Being together, not at home by ourselves, was really positive. By the end of that meeting and lunch afterwards, we put the club statement together and that time together helped with processing it all.

“Clearly some players had doubts about playing the following week against OMs. We didn’t train on the Tuesday, but went for a team dinner instead. We had conversations with OMs around the need to be flexible. ‘If the game does proceed, please understand we may have some players who think they’re ok to play but may actually change their mind once the boots go on. That’s not us being sneaky with the team list, it’s just a reality of where we are right now.’

“Full credit to OMs – they were absolutely fantastic with their support & understanding of our predicament. We saw incredible strength from our players and no-one pulled out, despite us repeatedly reminding them that we had no issues with anyone not playing.  But anyone who watched that game would have clearly seen that the guys were a little bit off the boil and fair enough.”

Meanwhile, Michael has undergone surgery to remove his skull (to allow for his brain to swell) as his family and friends endure the longest 17 days of their entire lives as they wait for him to awaken.

“The best news was when I woke up, because to that point, there was so much unknown,” said Michael.

“My family had so many scenarios to contemplate – would I be left in a permanently vegetative state? Would I have to learn how to speak again? Would my limbs work?”

His first memory is understandably hazy.

“There’s a common condition in these situations of traumatic brain injury with sedation – it’s called post-traumatic amnesia,” said Michael.

“I’ve been told that I was awake for a few days before I have my first memory that I can still recall. It’s sorting of just waking up in hospital and seeing my Mum. She was like ‘Hi. Do you know where you are?’ I looked around and said, ‘It looks like hospital?’ ‘Do you know what happened? You had an accident playing footy.’

“It was at that moment that I found out about the coma. The first thing on my mind was thinking about how the team was doing. In fact, on the day of the accident as I was entering hospital, apparently I told my girlfriend Sacha that ‘It’s ok. I can run again soon and stay fit for finals.’

“So when I woke up, I was concerned about the team and whether I’d be able to contribute. I didn’t fully understand the circumstances or the severity of the situation for a few weeks, when the neurosurgeon showed me the CT scan and it really hit me how severe the damage had been, with my skull in a few pieces.

“Finding out about the permament vision loss wasn’t too bad. I had a bandage over my eye and I’d already sensed that I couldn’t see out of it.

“But when they confirmed it, it was pretty strange. Obviously, I’d never contemplated life seeing out of one eye. But I felt the same then as I do now – I don’t have that much of a disadvantage. The specialist told me that my left eye has pretty good vision in it. So that’s a positive.

“I was very grateful to have woken up and felt relatively normal. They tell me my physical fitness helped with my recovery. I also think it’s a bit of a ‘luck of the draw’ thing.”

Meanwhile, the community has gotten behind the Go Fund Me page established to assist in Michael’s long road back to health – Patrick Mount blown away by the volume of support.

“It reinforced what a great strong community we have,” Patty recalls.

“There were so many people reaching out with support and donations. It really highlighted the community spirit across the VAFA, with HQ and so many people across so many other clubs getting involved. Everyone from our on-field rivals to clubs from different divisions that we’d never really had much to do with.

“It was just tremendous. Clubs from outside the VAFA reached out to help as well. It was quite touching & absolutely amazing. A massive thank you to everyone who reached out, donated & offered support to the Pisker Family and the club. It was a very chaotic time, so that support network was just so crucial to helping us get through it all.”

Michael was unaware of the Go Fund Me campaign until a few weeks after he’d woken up.

“I was at the ABI Clinic at Caulfield Hospital and my Mum told me that there’s been a Go Fund Me set up and it’s raised 303. ‘$303 dollars?’ I said. ‘That’s so kind.’

‘No, $303,000 Michael!’ Jesus wept. That’s a significant amount of money! I was completely overwhelmed. I couldn’t believe it.

“It’s a great reflection of the football community. I’ve always been a big believer in being on-field enemies but as soon as the siren goes, we’re all mates after that. We go out there with mutual respect chasing the same objective, but have a beer after the game and get to know the opposition a bit. It’s always been a part of the game I look forward to.

“It means so much to me that they see me as another person, not just an opposition player and some of our biggest rivals made the biggest donations. That means a lot and the Go Fund Me has been extremely significant and kind.”

“I probably should still be in hospital – one estimate had me in there for six months, but the nurses did such a great job and physically everything is going quite well. I’m back in the gym doing some runs here and there and I’ve put a lot of the weight I lost back on – I went from 91 kilos to 75.

“I’ve played a bit of tennis and I’m hoping to play in my basketball team in the coming weeks. That will be a big test, given the confined space with bodies everywhere. My balance, walking and the gym are all okay, but my depth perception is a little off so it will be interesting having a basketball flying my way!”

“I have an eye prosthesis which looks quite good. It was hand-painted based on my good eye. We need to give that 12 months to settle in as the state of the eye-socket underneath will change.

“Hopefully I can start doing driving lessons with a VicRoads instructor and get my licence back.

“Every week I catch up with specialists in each of the disciplines. Some of it is about balance and working on stabilising my hips. I see a neuropsychologist re: mood regulation and how I’m feeling. Then an occupational therapist to help me on the road back to work.

“Work has been really understanding. I work for a mobile lending franchise and the owner Lorenc and the team have been so supportive. They checked in on me regularly when I was in hospital.

“The plan is to integrate back into life slowly and I was planning to start work again in January, but prior to the accident I’d spoken to Lorenc about travelling to visit my Dad, who lives in Ireland. I want to go and see him and Lorenc has been very supportive – he’s encouraged it – so to have that sort of support from your boss is really good. So I’ll take much of next year off to travel.”

So what has this traumatic chapter taught Michael about himself and life in general?

“It probably gives me belief in my resilience,” he responds.

“It taught me that I didn’t appreciate things as much as I could have. You certainly get a new perspective.

“I was probably a big ignorant and brazen in a sense. I’ve thought a few times about whether if I had the opportunity to go back in time and do this again, would I go for that ball?

“I’ve been stuck on the fence of ‘I’ve always put club first,’ but sometimes you’ve got to understand that there’s a bit of danger involved and maybe I shouldn’t be stupid about putting myself at risk.

“It’s not like it’s just me affected. My actions put my Mum, girlfriend, sister, Dad, our friends and communities through a lot of stress – the consequences have not just been paid by me.

“But I’m still addicted to footy, so will definitely be hanging around the club in the future. Potentially coaching, as I get satisfaction out of developing young players and think that would be pretty rewarding.”

“It’s great that Michael is very much keen to stay involved in the club,” said Mount.

“To have him involved in some off-field capacity in years to come would be great. There’s no rush on anything – Michael can take his time & get himself right.

“He spoke so well at our Best & Fairest and really put life into perspective. Winning and losing isn’t the absolute be-all and end-all.”

St Kevin’s presented Michael with the club’s inaugural ‘Michael Pisker Most Courageous Player’ Award that night, which Michael describes as “a very touching notion from the club and committee.”

It couldn’t be more fitting.