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House Rules 2017: Andrew escapes 'life threatening' injury despite worst fears

Aja Styles
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A "life threatening" emergency temporarily set the catty dramas aside on House Rules as contestants rallied around injured twin Andrew and his brother Jono.

"I was just putting a piece on glass in the skip bin and when I went to, I guess, push it into the bin it just shattered and it all rained down on me and a piece cut my wrist," a recovered Andrew told Fairfax Media after Tuesday night's episode saw him rushed off to Pindara Private Hospital on the Gold Coast. 

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Trailer: House Rules emergency

A medical emergency on-set halts production of Network Seven's reality TV show House Rules.

"It's a pretty straight cut just basically on the side of my right wrist, on the left hand side, it just cut that side part.

"It looked quite open when I first looked down on it so I just put pressure on it and then I started calling out for the medic and I thought I probably need more than a medic and I thought someone had better call an ambulance."

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The teams were into day one of their final renovation of Aaron and Daniella's house, which was considered the biggest undertaking yet since it was twice the size of all the other contestants' houses.

The easy-going Western Australian twins were allocated the bathroom, dining room and pantry. And it was during the removal of the windows during the demolition works that disaster struck. "Hospital big time, the guy cut an artery. Yeah call an ambulance it's opened up massively," could be heard as several contestants and House Rules crew and medic gathered around Andrew.

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Ella started questioning the show's medic about whether an ambulance had been called.

"You've got to relax mate, you've got to relax," Troy told Andrew as he removed the twin's work helmet. "I want you to sit down before you fall down bro. Don't even look at it please. You're going white, you're going white. The more you stress, bro, the more you're going to bleed."

"The artery is literally straight from your heart," Ella told Andrew, as brother Jono took action to dial triple-0. "You can bleed out very quickly."

"It is serious, this is life and death," Jono told the operator on the phone. So paramedic Ella took over saying: "We've got right wrist arterial laceration and probably a significant hemorrhage. No pulse in right wrist. Yeah life threatening."

It turned out that Andrew hadn't cut an artery, but it took surgery to determine the extent of the damage. "I found out that it had cut a tendon that controls the side-to-side movement in the hand and a nerve that gives the hand some feeling," he told Fairfax. 

He had nicked the Ulnar nerve, which affected some of his fingers. "That surgery repaired the tendon ... it missed tendons that controls the grip of your hand. It's not good to cut your wrists but in the end what I did cut was the best case scenario just because it didn't affect the motion of my fingers."

I thought I was dead to be honest.

Andrew

Back on the episode, Andrew gave the medical verdict that it was suspected artery and nerve damage, "they won't know until we get into surgery what the damage is if it's really bad, it'll be a long rehab of trying to get some feeling and movement."

"That blue, the blue doesn't look good does it," said Jono to his brother as he indicated about his hand.

"I thought I was dead to be honest," Andrew said.

"I was really struggling, struggling to stay composed. I'm struggling a bit now. I was in shock really," a teary Jono told cameras and his brother. "You probably still are mate," said Andrew.

"I actually thought 'I'm losing my brother'," Jono added.

And what of the competition?

"This week we were looking for 10s, now I'm just looking to make it through the bloody week," Andrew reflected on the show. "This in reality could spell the end of our time on House Rules," Jono agreed.

Off-screen, when asked by Fairfax Media what was going through his mind about being on the show while in hospital, Andrew said: "It really puts it into perspective, I guess, because I'm thinking my girlfriend is back at home with my family and I've just gone on a reality show for a bit of fun and now something pretty serious has happened.

"And I guess my idea was just to make a full recovery so I don't have any permanent damage in my hand. Luckily my girlfriend actually flew over as quick as she could from Perth so that actually, sort of, helped having her there."

The incident even rattled paramedic Sean, with Ella telling the cameras: "It's always hard to see one of your friends injured. He wasn't really doing anything wrong and this has happened."

On site the sentiment was similar among the other teams.

"A little bit flat about Andrew, I just hope he's going to be alright at the end of the day," said Harry. "Yeah I feel for the boys."

Even Fiona put aside her grievances after an earlier battle with the twins over space for their butler's pantry. "I hope he's OK though, seriously," she said.

"We don't know if he's OK, we don't know if he's going to come back, we don't know if Jono's going to come back. Or if they can carry on in the competition," a concerned Nicole told the cameras.

But one of the most emotional moments came from Bec's tears.

"Today was tough, seeing one of our mates take a fall," she told the cameras. "We may fight and curse each other as a group but we're a weird, weird family and we're going to protect each other like no tomorrow."

It was an episode that seemed to fast forward Troy and Bec's earlier storm out of the House Rules studio since real blood was being spilled. And Andrew's hospitalisation was clearly the most serious drama to occur on the series.

"I was only in the hospital for the night but then got out of the hospital midday or so," he told Fairfax. "I think everyone (in the family) was just really worried and especially because I didn't really know what damage had been done and what the effect would be long-term. It was all an unknown so I couldn't really give anyone that much information really.

"I had to have a cast on my wrists for a couple of weeks and then move into a sort of brace for six or so weeks after that."

And he was grateful to the teams for their concern and action at the time. "Ella and Sean knew more I guess than the medic because they're paramedics so he let them take control, they really knew what they were doing. If there was no Sean and Ella there it would be the medic taking over, but Sean and Ella really took control. I think they were really quick to act being paramedics. They were really good."

His brother told viewers at the time: "Sean and Ella they were onto it, it's their job but they're in a competition. But they took time out to help Andrew."

While Ella showed concern for Andrew's arm as the show progressed, it wasn't long before Nicole began showing more interest in their position on the leaderboard. "If Jono and Andrew have to withdraw from the competition that's good for us that's going to mean that we're through automatically."

Andrew told Fairfax separately that while some teams did not get on with Fiona and Nicole, he felt that he got on with everyone and "I think we would all have each other's back, as well, if there was anything like that."

Still Jono was not left to do all the heavy lifting on his own, with Harry nominating that they would all help get the brothers' zones done, "that's the least of your worries" he told Jono upon his return to the work site.

"It's nice to have the support of the other teams," Jono told viewers. "It's a competition this could be a chance where they just say 'Nah we're not helping them we could pass them on the leaderboard' but instead they're offering to help and they're going to do anything they can to get us across the line this week."

After being asked by host Joh Griggs how he was holding up, Jono nobly replied: "A lot going on and I've still got to finish this because Aaron and Dee finished our house off and I owe it to them to finish their house."

Whether or not they do, Andrew was not telling us. "I'm not allowed." But he did reveal that since filming the show he has moved in with his girlfriend in Perth and thereby surrendered the nicest bedroom in their Mandurah house to his brother.

"It grows on you, the house does, because it's pretty bright. We haven't repainted it yet, we're not meant to repaint until the show finishes airing."

Originally published on The Sydney Morning Herald as House Rules 2017: Andrew escapes 'life threatening' injury despite worst fears.

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