“I Died Twice on the Table”: Man Overcomes Tragedy to Raise Awareness for Kidney Disease

Steve Logan’s life changed forever after what was meant to be a routine surgery went tragically wrong, leaving him fighting for his life. The 46-year-old, originally from Huyton but now living in Australia, shared his emotional story of survival and resilience, recounting how a minor operation turned into a life-altering nightmare.

Steve, who moved to Australia in 2006 to be closer to his family, had undergone keyhole surgery when everything took a devastating turn. “Everything that could go wrong with the surgery did go wrong, and I was in a coma for a while,” he said. “When I woke up, I found out I’d died twice on the operating table”, via Liverpool Echo.

The complications were so severe that doctors told Steve he would have to learn to walk again. “The severity of the operation to save my life meant I would have to spend time in a wheelchair and learn to walk again. I have PTSD from it,” he shared.

At 42 years old, recently divorced and starting over, Steve’s world was turned upside down. “It was life-ending for me, it was horrendous,” he said. “I was freshly single, starting my life again, and all of a sudden, my life was taken from me.”

Tragically, the physical trauma from the failed surgery led to even more devastating news. Two years ago, Steve was diagnosed with stage five kidney failure. “They said I would most likely never walk properly again,” Steve recalled. Now, he undergoes dialysis three times a week, tethered to a machine for six hours each time just to stay alive. “I’ve not let this stop me,” he added.

Before his medical struggles, Steve had been a champion diver in his teenage years, even going professional in his twenties before retiring due to a back injury. But the news of his kidney failure sparked something inside him—he decided not only to learn to walk again but to return to the diving board.

“I made the decision that I wasn’t going to let this stop me. Five weeks ago, after losing 35 kilos from being in a wheelchair, I finally returned to the diving boards,” he said with pride. In just a few weeks, Steve will compete in the international diving games, raising money for Kidney Health Australia and raising awareness of kidney disease.

“It feels absolutely amazing to be back,” Steve said. “It’s liberating, although there are down days when I’m on dialysis at home. But the feeling of diving from the top board is like Liverpool winning the Premier League every time—I’m still a huge Liverpool fan.”

Through his journey, Steve has become an advocate for raising awareness about kidney disease, often called the “silent killer” because symptoms typically don’t appear until it’s too late. “I want to raise awareness and inspire people to not feel so down,” he said. “When you think you have nothing left in the tank, you have reserves that you never knew you had.”

Steve’s story is one of immense courage and determination. Despite facing unimaginable challenges, he’s proving that even in the darkest times, there is always hope and the strength to carry on.