Fordham facing life-saving bowel operation: "I'll keep fighting until I can't fight any more"

Andy Fordham, a legend of the game, is at home recovering after being discharged from hospital following a blockage in his bowels.

Fordham who was admitted to hospital at the end of February with a potential abdominal infection may need a life-saving bowel operation, it has been revealed if it happens again.

'The Viking' had previously weighed 31 stone last summer - his heaviest weight - but since then he has lost more than eight stone after having long standing health issues in the past.

“Andy was being sick during the night. They were worried there was a blockage in his abdomen, in his bowels, and if they couldn’t move it with medication, he’d have to be transferred back to King’s College for an operation," said his wife Jenny to The Sun.

“If King’s had operated on him then, and opened him up to take a look, there was a high chance he wouldn't come out the other side.

“With his liver, there would have been complications. The nurses and staff were amazing.

"But at one point they said, ‘We’ll have another scan and if it doesn’t work then we’ll have to move him. Surgery is very evasive and very dangerous.’

“And I was sitting there thinking, ‘What? Don’t do that to me’. The fluid is still building up in his abdomen.

"There’s no guarantee it won’t happen again. If it does, they may operate.”

"I'll keep fighting until I can't fight any more"

Fordham himself is determined to fight this and was honest in the fact that alcohol has been the root cause of his problems but paid tribute to his wife Jenny for saving him.

“I’ll keep fighting until I can’t fight any more," said the former World Champion.

“If you drink too much, have a look at my story — and you see it isn’t worth it. I’m not proud of it. It doesn’t just ruin your life, it can also ruin many other people’s lives, too."

“There have been a few things gone wrong and it’s all down to alcohol. I’m very lucky I have such a strong family behind me. Without Jenny, I’d probably be dead.”