Daniel Andrews' wife has described fearing he would die after discovering him turning blue and crippled in pain after a horrific back injury on holiday in regional Victoria.
The Victorian Premier suffered broken ribs and spinal damage after falling on the wet stairs in Sorento, on the Mornington Peninsula, in March this year - but Mr Andrews said he is determined to run for the position of Premier again next year.
In a video message Mr Andrews said he and his family were on a weekend away, where it had been raining, when he slipped on a step heading off to work.
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"As I put my foot on the first step, I knew I was in trouble," he said in the video with his wife Catherine sitting beside him.
"I didn't really connect with the step, it just slid straight off. I became airbourne almost, so I'm horizontal with the step.
"Then all I could hear was this almighty crunch. And that's when I knew… and when I heard the crunch, I thought 'this is serious, we're in trouble here'".
Mr Andrews said his injuries left him unable to breathe, let alone call for help.
"Cath must have heard me groaning in pain. I couldn't yell out. She comes and finds me a few moments later. It felt like an eternity because I couldn't breathe. I could only take shallow breaths in and out," he said.
Mrs Andrews described finding her husband as shocking.
"You were going blue and we were looking at each other and I was thinking you're going to die here in Sorento, at this holiday house and you were looking at me and you felt the same," she said.
Mr Andrews said his wife phoned an ambulance and members of his close personal protection detail.
"I can remember the ambos getting there and they gave me one of those green whistles… but they knew I had broken ribs… so they said, don't breathe on that too hard or it will make you cough," he said.
"But it wasn't until they got a line into my hand and gave me some pretty significant pain relief that things kind of settled."
Mr Andrews offered his thanks to the first responders, saying he was proud and grateful. He also addressed the "vile stories" that were spread around his injury.
Politics isn't always like that. I've got one of the most touching and most important messages that came to me, a text message from (former Victorian Premier) Ted Baillieu on the day of this accident, the evening of that Tuesday," he said.
Mr Andrews said Mr Baillieu shared his experience with recovering from a back injury, and the importance of taking the time to properly heal from an injury.
"He made it really clear to me and us that we needed to take our time and heal properly," Mr Andrews said.
He said the injury had also given him time to remind himself of the things that are important in his life, such as family and representing Victorians.
"I'm coming back this week. I'm fit, I'm strong, I'm healthy," he said.
"I'm on the ballot next year. I'm running, and I'm running to win. There's unfinished business and I'm determined to get it done."
