“Tiger King” star Rick Kirkham shares his harrowing experience of a life-threatening fall

– I hurt like hell.

That’s what American Rick Kirkham (65) says when Dagbladet switches on the phone. The American has now settled in Bodø with his Norwegian wife, Kristin – but most people probably know him best from the Netflix series “Tiger King”.

Turn the clock back three years and “Tiger King”, corona and lockdown were some of the most discussed topics.

However, that is not the topic when we now have a chat with the film producer. On Friday afternoon, he shared a somewhat disturbing post on Facebook: a series of photos of a severely injured 65-year-old, as well as a text explaining that he had broken his shoulder, collarbone and nose.

When the wife came home a little over a week earlier, she was certain that the man was dead.

Don’t remember anything

– I have a fractured forehead and eight stitches in my face. It hurts the whole body, says Kirkham.

He himself does not know what happened. The last thing he remembers is that he had been to the toilet on the second floor. He didn’t wake up until four days later.

“Tiger King” profile rushed to hospital

– I was alone at home and fell down the stairs. The doctors don’t quite know what caused it, but they suspect a brain haemorrhage or that an aneurysm in the brain burst, says Kirkham.

He has been told this by the doctors.

The 65-year-old fell down 15 steps, somehow managed to crawl one and a half meters across the hall, before he passed out again. On the way he destroyed a number of pieces of furniture, including a chair and a table. There were traces of blood all down the stairs, and on the floor of the hallway there was a large, red puddle.

Kirkham remembers none of this.

– Thought he was dead

– I was completely shocked when I got home, but I actually managed to keep a cool head. I stayed completely calm, it was almost like I went into some kind of mode. It was very strange, says the wife.

She had been out on an errand for about two and a half hours. The accident happened sometime while she was away.

– I thought he was dead, admits Kristin.

She immediately contacted an ambulance, which transported her husband to the hospital in Bodø. Because of the bleeding in the brain, he was quickly flown on to the hospital in Tromsø.

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A number of tests were carried out there, and Kirkham says that the doctors suspected that there was something wrong with the spine. When he eventually stopped bleeding in the brain, after three days. he was transported back to Bodø hospital.

– I didn’t come to myself until I was in the ambulance on the way to Bodø, says the American.

Refused to believe it

– It was almost like waking up from a dream. I did not understand what had happened, and did not believe what they told me.

When the paramedics asked if he had a headache, and how it felt in his arm, he immediately realized that what they told him was true.

– It was very hard to believe. I have never been in an accident like this. When I went to my GP a few days later, he gave me a clear message: I can’t have another case like this, then I’ll die. I am lucky to be alive now.

– You have more lives than a cat, the wife chimes in.

Getting better

Now Kirkham is home from the hospital, with strict instructions to take it easy, take his medicine and be careful.

– My wife takes such good care of me. If I get up to go to the bathroom, she is there to escort me right away. She makes sure I take my medicine, cooks for me and just makes sure I’m fine. She never leaves my side, he praises Kristin.

He does not hide that the pain is still very present, but that he is now determined to recover.

– I hope to get better and pain-free as soon as possible. I can’t think beyond that, primarily because I haven’t been able to fully get my head around what has happened.