‘I got to see what it looked like if I was dead' says Tai Woffinden as Speedway icon reveals horror details of coma
TAI'S TEARS 'I got to see what it looked like if I was dead' says Tai Woffinden as Speedway icon reveals horror details of coma
TAI WOFFINDEN has admitted he got to see 'what it looked like if I was dead' after coming out of a coma.
The five-times world champion has opened up further on his ordeal in the immediate aftermath of the horror crash in Poland on March 30.
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Tai Woffinden exclusively spoke with The Sun about coming out of his coma
Credit: Alamy
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The speedway icon suffered multiple fractures after a horror crash
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Tai's wife Faye has been by his side since the near-death ordeal
Woffy, 34, broke over FIFTEEN bones and was placed in an induced coma after three major operations to save his life.
The crash happened when Woffinden collided with a teammate and hit a fence behind a protective barrier.
It left him with a double break in his right leg, a broken back, broken shoulder, multiple broken ribs, a punctured lung, fractured arm and extensive blood loss.
The Great Britain hero and wife Faye revealed more details on his recovery and he simply 'does not know' if he'll ever return to the track.
Woffinden, who is the country's most decorated rider after winning Grand Prix world titles in 2013, 2015 and 2018, has also spoken for the first time to The Sun about the acceleration of his DJ career which he is focused on while out of action.
The Scunthorpe-born racer is teaming up with a massive dance superstar Oliver Heldens, who was the DJ for Man City's title celebrations and is helping Jack Grealish learn the trade.
The track released this week, The Orange Room, derives from the iconic movie Clockwork Orange.
On his future, he said: 'Honestly I don't know what the plan is moving forward or if I'm going ride again.
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'We are currently selling up in the UK. We don't know where we are going to live next year, we don't know if we are going to be in Europe or if I'm going to ride again.
'I feel like I'd like to sit on my bike at some point and maybe do a few laps but I just don't know.
'I'm just happy to be alive' - Tai Woffinden wells up and admits he may need further operations after terrifying crash
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Woffinden spent days in a medically-induced coma
'I've got a goal in my head to be back as fast as I can but that's just something I need to chase, to focus on and give me that drive. The reality is I don't know what's next for me.'
Woffinden was due to get further MRI scan tests back at the start of the week which will clarify whether he needs another operation on the humerus in his arm.
He also revealed horrifying details of how he came out of a coma and having to deal with hallucinations.
He added: 'I was like a psycho when I woke up. I looked like an 80-year-old crackhead with a nice set of teeth!
'Basically because I was angry and scared because of the strong drugs I was hallucinating like crazy.
'I was like moving around. I wanted to walk, stand-up, I wanted to get comfortable.
'There was one time they put mittens on my hands and tied my hands and legs so I couldn't kick, move or roll around.
'Because I was moving so much and the amount of injuries I had. They said to Faye if he doesn't calm down, we'll put him back in a coma. Thankfully I stopped.
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He is ahead of schedule in his rehab
'They noticed when Faye was by my side, I was really relaxed, I'd calm down and she'd talk to me and I'd listen.'
There was also the terrifying feeling of reading back on the tributes while he was fighting for his life.
He continued: 'We've had so much support from the people we are close to but also fans. To hear stadiums like Wroclaw, Torun and others all cheering my name.
I looked like an 80-year-old crackhead with a nice set of teeth
Woffinden
'I went back on my socials and was looking back on all the stuff.
'I woke up from the coma and looked back on my socials.
'I got to see what it looked like if I was dead. It was really weird, a really strange feeling.
'When I was in a coma no one really knew what was going on. All the messages, it was wild.
'Rehab has been full gas and here we are now.'
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The speedway icon suffered multiple fractures after a horror crash
While his recuperation is remarkably rapid, Woffinden has turned his full attention to his music career which has been building steadily in his spare time over the past few years.
But it's certainly set to take a massive leap in success.
He added: 'Using a speedway analogy to describe where I am in dance music, I'm probably in the National Development League. But now I've teamed up with Tomasz Gollob.
'On Friday we release a big collaboration with an artist called Oliver Heldens.
'He's a Dutch DJ, kind of house, trance, techno DJ, who's a household name in dance music.
'When Man City won their last Premiership title, he was the DJ on their bus taking them around Manchester doing the music.
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Jack Grealish with DJ Oliver Heldens
'He's been teaching Jack Grealish how to DJ and stuff. He's a pretty big deal. So we basically made a track.
'The Orange Theme is out on Friday. It's actually a derivative of a symphonic track from the 1600s.
'It's actually been covered a few times. So most famously it features in the film A Clockwork Orange, it's part of the theme tune.
'And in dance music terms, the biggest version was in the late 90s. Again, it was called The Orange Theme by a group called Cygnus X.
'This is going to be big. Can't wait to get it out there.'
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Woffinden is Britain's most successful speedway rider of all-time
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