29th May 2025 will always be known to me as the day that changed my life forever. Prior to this date I was your normal 28-year-old who loved sport and keeping fit. I had played football for over 20 years within an academy as a child and then both professionally and semi-professional in later years. Football had essentially been my whole life. This drastically changed however on the 29th of May.
After completing the Great North Run in 2024 for the first time, I caught the bug and was desperate to do it again. 2025 however, with a little more personal reason due to aiming to raise money for a cancer charity following my Dad receiving a recent diagnosis. I had been training, alongside starting preparations to return to football for the new season and therefore took myself out, as I had done hundreds of times before in my life, for a run.
It was on the run I suffered a cardiac arrest; I was found lying on the ground by a passerby walking his dog who began CPR and called 999. On arrival the paramedic crew confirmed I had no pulse and was not breathing and shocked my heart with a defibrillator. The shock regained my heart rhythm however I remained unconscious and was rushed to hospital. At hospital the decision was made to place me into a coma to try and control the situation. I will never forget hearing my family explain the emotions they felt when they were taken into the family room at the hospital and told staff were unsure if I was going to pull through and if I did what consequences the cardiac arrest could have on me. Whilst in a coma further tests were carried out as to why this could have happened. It was during these ECG’s and Ultrasounds that it was confirmed I actually had undiagnosed Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.
After 2 days I was woken from my coma where I then spent a further 2 weeks in hospital, fitted with a Subcutaneous ICD and left to try and understand why this happened to me and what this condition was. I could not for the life of me understand how I had gone through my whole life of playing sport without this being detected in any way and what the consequences were going to be.
I am now writing this 17 week post cardiac arrest and navigating a new way of life. I have made a full physical recovery and other than some memory loss I am back to normal. I have had to retire from playing competitive football due to the condition and defibrillator however that has not stopped me finding a new purpose in football, by now coaching the team I used to play for. I have turned my eye to focus on other sports I love such as golf and have even started to run again. I have also received incredible support from my workplace who have gone above and beyond to support and reintegrate me back into full time work.
I wasn’t sure about sharing my story but I always believed that because I played football, it defined my life. This has made me realise that is not the case but possibly even more importantly, this incident and condition may have changed my life forever but it will certainly not define my life moving forward either. I hope that people reading this will realise these things can truly happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Therefore, awareness of every aspect whether that is screening or diagnosis to dealing with the aftermath of a cardiac arrest, it can be managed and there is people who can help.”