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5 months ago
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Former NRL star Chris Walker has revealed how he has recovered from having his legs crushed by a shipping container - and the way that steroids have helped him get back his old life.
The ex-Queensland, Broncos, Roosters and Titans winger 'cheated death' when a 700kg shipping container fell on his legs in December 2021 while in far north Queensland.
The father of three was pinned under the slab of steal and probably only minutes away from death when he was rescued.
'I can't explain what it feels like to have a shipping container fall on you,' Walker, 44, told News Corp.
'I had gone from walking 2.5 million steps to being in a wheelchair unable to walk.
Chris Walker (left) was prescribed PEDs to help him recover from a horror accident
The former footy star says the use of the drugs saved his life and made him feel superhuman
'Like any major event, it happens so quickly. I just remember the force of the container hitting me and it felt like being smashed by a whole pack of 100kg front-rowers.
'I just felt so helpless. My legs were crushed. I couldn't do anything.
'I had so many emotions running through my head in that moment.
'Please don't lose my legs'.
'Please let me play with my kids again'.
'Please, please. Don't die'.
It took workers around three minutes to save the one-time try-scoring machine, but his injuries were horrific.
'At one stage, I was looking at getting my left leg amputated because of the crushing nature of the injury,' says Walker.
'My left leg was a mess. It cracked my left patella, snapped the meniscus in my left knee, ruptured the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and I also had a compound fracture, so the bone was sticking out of my left leg.
The former tryscoring machine was crushed by a shipping container in December 2021, suffering shocking leg injuries (pictured) that left him in a wheelchair
The physical injuries were very serious and Walker also suffered mentally from the trauma
'I also snapped the tibia in my right leg, so both my legs were broken.
'I had two rods going down both legs. In the 18 months after the accident, I had five surgeries. It always hung over my head that my leg could get infected or I could get gangrene.'
The former footy star was out of action for many months and was forced to see a psychologist for the mental anguish he has gone through - which at one low point even had him thinking about taking his own life.
Walker had always been against the use of performance-enhancing drugs, but has found they have helped him with his recovery.
'When my mate said to me there were certain things I could take, I kid you not, I felt like f***ing punching him in the face,' Walker admitted.
'I was walking around like an 80-year-old man.
'We would train together at the gym and I would still be sore three or four days later. I would be in excruciating pain just doing daily activities.
'My mate said, 'I want you to be open-minded about this, but there are things out there that can help people that have had trauma in their life get back to some sort of normality'.
'He said, 'There's testosterone, human growth hormone, peptides ... things if done right, can get you back to some health'.
Walker eventually agreed to give the PEDs a try and has not looked back, insisting that the course he took 'saved his life'.
'It makes you feel superhuman,' he said.
'If I took this stuff when I was playing for the Broncos, I would have scored 100 tries a season.
'Now I can see why there is a temptation to cheat at the Olympics and in any professional sporting arena.
Walker (pictured with wife Courtney) is against the use of steroids in sport but is very thankful for their availability in his physical recovery
'The blokes who were cheating other natural guys by being on performance-enhancing drugs are a disgrace.
'My recovery was unbelievable. I could do a weights session in the morning, then go back in the afternoon, then go back at dinner and not wake up sore at all.
'The strength and recovery is unbelievable. It's actually totally unfair in a professional sporting context.
'There will be some people who will read this and judge me, but this is my story and I wanted to be honest about it.'
Walker followed the orders of his doctor throughout his recovery and has since stopped using PEDs.
He is now in great shape, as evidenced by his workout videos on Instagram, in which he looks like he could still run out and play first grade.
Walker now runs a thriving vodka business and is very happy being able to live life to the fullest.
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