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Brad Watson is hospitalized with a torn disc.
photo: supply
By Amberleigh Jack
Radio veteran Brad Watson laughs as he recalls the “worst” moment of his recent hospital stay – a catheter accidentally pulled out and a massive spill of fluid.
We are now sitting on the couch of the 41-year-old man’s Oakland home, less than two weeks after he woke up with “the worst pain I’ve ever experienced.” Unable to walk or stand properly, he went from an emergency room visit to a nearly week-long stay in an Oakland hospital.
Now back home, he’s in dad mode again, with pauses in his conversation when his 4-year-old daughter comes over for a hug or demonstrates a handstand off the couch. As far as the kids (Piper and Finn, 2) know, Dad is away on a business trip, so as not to scare them.
The 41-year-old broadcaster is a father of two.
photo: supply
It turned out that the hospitalization on that “business trip” was due to a torn disc. However, the reason he was hospitalized for several days was due to numbness in his groin and the fact that he had not urinated for several days. This also led to the “humiliating” insertion of a catheter – which reminds us of that “worst” moment.
“In front of the whole ward, the nurse said, ‘Hey, Steve, we have to get a smaller one,'” he said, shaking his head and laughing.
Then, after (painfully) replacing the larger catheter with a smaller one, Watson stood up — and pulled it and its contents out.
“It was all over the floor,” he said, laughing.
In total he spent five days in hospital and will need around eight weeks to fully recover, and is currently in “excruciating pain” when the effects of the painkillers wear off.
He speaks with genuine sincerity and a warm, welcoming smile. He says this willingness to share comes from his long career in broadcasting. At 16, he started working on youth-focused radio station The Edge. He worked behind the scenes for nearly a decade before returning to broadcasting in 2022, where he co-hosted the drive show The Hits on NZME Radio with Laura McGoldrick until late last year.
Laura McGoldrick and Brad Watson of The Hits.
photo: supply
“Our thing is to get anything on the air, no matter what it is,” he said.
“I have no shame talking about these things because it could happen to anyone. I thought it was hilarious – they put a tube in my penis and I just lay there.”
Watson, who has been as open about his career as he was about having a tube inserted into his penis, recalled that he received great feedback and positive reviews on The Hits and was expecting a contract extension, only to be told otherwise last October.
“They said, ‘It’s not going to work, we’re not going to build it next year … and you won’t have a job’.”
The decision “made no sense,” Watson said, considering the show’s ratings, until he learned it would be replaced by broadcasting legend P.J. Harding.
“I was like, to be fair, if I was The Hits and PJ wanted to get back on the radio, I would put her back on the radio. She’s great, she has to be on the radio.”
He paused, then admitted that the blow of losing this dream role “devastated me mentally.”
McGoldrick left the show in October, but Watson continued to host solo for about seven weeks until the end of the year. Coming to the office was “awkward”, and he barely left the house on weekends, spending most of his time in bed.
“I was really depressed,” he said, looking up from his coffee. His condition “gradually got worse” until he finally called the helpline after a panic attack one night.
“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where this came from, but I’m just devastated.”
That call prompted Watson to see a psychiatrist and take medication to help with his symptoms. When he finished his final show in December, Watson handed in his badge, left the building and said, “I don’t feel anything about it.”
Sure, there were moments of anger and frustration, but “I just walked out feeling relieved. I had the best summer I’ve ever had.”
Now he’s back ‘home’ to Mediaworks. Eventually, he’d love to get back on TV, but he smiles and points to a nearby laptop where he’s working as he recuperates.
He’s been busy – programming for More FM, doing his shifts on the air, training announcers on the new system. He gets really excited when he talks about being involved with Channel X, his “favourite little station”.
“I never felt at home at NZME,” he said.
Given his more than two decades in broadcasting, both on set and behind the scenes, Watson values good sound and “pure audio quality.” He “hated” that his son Finn, who has been “not completely deaf since birth” but “has hearing problems that are so severe that they affect his learning,” couldn’t fully enjoy the experience.
Now, as ambassadors for New Zealand’s deaf community, Watson and his family have been welcomed into the deaf community, which he previously “didn’t know existed”.
“They welcomed our whole family and gave us sign language names. They are the kindest people. They are funny … they are just really good people.”
And his sister, Piper, is “very supportive.”
“I think she’ll be there for him throughout school,” he said.
“If anyone was harassing him, she would be there.”
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