By Torleif Sorenson on 4/23/15

Now that Audrey Leishman has safely returned home from a hospital stay, her husband, Australian-born PGA Tour star Marc Leishman has explained just how close he came to losing his wife.

In an interview with Ben Everill of the Australian Associated Press, Leishman said that doctors gave his wife only a five-percent chance of living through her hospital stay. Andrey Leishman originally thought she had the flu, but it turned out to be a nasty case of respiratory distress syndrome, coupled with toxic shock causing some of her internal organs to shut down.

Marc Leishman said that after doctors placed Audrey in an induced coma, they actually flipped Audrey onto her stomach, in order to remove fluid from her lungs. Naturally, Marc could think of nothing else:

"I was going crazy inside, not a whole lot of good things happened in that time. I was trying to stay strong for everyone else but I couldn't eat; I lost 10 pounds in four days. I wasn't sleeping.

"I understand what people go through when they are in these positions. We are so lucky. Her doctor was just amazing. I have no doubt he saved her life with his decisions."

Also helpful was that Audrey was in excellent physical shape before the infections took hold.

Still recovering

Audrey Leishman participated in the interview and disclosed that she is still in recovery mode — in fact, she is basically having to learn to walk again!

But her words are eye-opening:

"I am just really grateful to still be here.

"I really appreciate the strength I have and my health and I appreciate every kiss and cuddle I can give my kids, every boo-boo I can kiss away, every tussle of their hair. I appreciate everything.

"I never really allowed myself to ask why it happened. I have instead chosen to focus on the fact that I survived and the amount of love and support everyone has shown us. It has been so overwhelming and humbling to see how many people are in our corner and supported us."

No doubt.

And with that support from family and friends, Marc Leishman has been given the go-ahead to return to the PGA Tour at this week's Zurich Classic in New Orleans, Louisiana. And what about the pressure of playing well on tour? He answered that well, too:

"This certainly puts things into perspective. If you make a bogey, who cares, they happen, just fight back best you can. Hopefully I can get myself into a position to win on a Sunday again pretty quickly and be able to just handle it without any stress or worry now.

"I can draw from her strength for sure, not just in golf, but in every day of our lives."

As for missing out on the 79th Masters Tournament two weeks ago, we are confident that Marc Leishman will play his way into qualifying for the 80th Masters Tournament twelve months from now.

And if Leishman gets into contention at the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, the Open Championship at Saint Andrews, or the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, it will probably be played heavily in the press and on television.


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