Veteran broadcaster Derryn Hinch has opened up about his health struggles, revealing that he’s had over 30 falls in the last year.
On Monday night, the 81-year-old appeared on A Current Affair, where he reflected on his controversial career and shared the devastating list of health issues he’d experienced of late.
“I’ve had 30 falls in the last year. And they just happen, even when I’m holding onto Johnny. I sometimes just hit the floor,” he explained, referring to his walker which he’s aptly named “Johnny Walker”.
Hinch admitted that the last fall truly frightened him. He had spent 12 hours on the floor before help arrived, then spent three weeks in hospital recovering.
“I didn’t know that I had broken two ribs,” he told journalist Martin King.
“The thing was I was just lying there. I couldn’t move my legs, I couldn’t move my arms. I couldn’t crawl to my bedroom to get a blanket. I was totally stranded.”
While Hinch admits he’s struggling, he’s thankful for the full life he’s lived.
“I’ve had such an incredible life,” he said.
“I never dreamt it, you know. And I hold a seat in history, and it’s pretty good, and health permitting there’s plenty more to come. If I last another month or another ten years, that’s all good by me.”
Back in 2011, Hinch previously underwent a liver transplant following a cancer battle and a cirrhosis diagnosis.
In a chat with the Sydney Morning Herald in 2007, Hinch admitted the cirrhosis was a result of drinking too much alcohol.
“I suppose I got to the stage in the early `80s … where I would have been drinking four bottles of white wine a day. I could justify it and it’s not that hard,” he said.
“It was part of my life.”
In his professional life, Hinch was known for his outspoken and controversial approach to journalism. He has been jailed and fined for contempt of court multiple times for publishing supressed identities of sex offenders.
He went on to create the Derryn Hinch Justice Party and was elected to the Australian senate for Victoria in 2016. He served until 2019, with a primary focus on criminal justice reforms.
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