Tony Cottee has revealed that he initially thought he had sunstroke when he suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2019.
The West Ham United icon was staying in a hotel in west London after filming an advert for Sky when he experienced severe pain in his forehead and neck, followed by vomiting. However, due to his hard-headed mentality when faced with an injury or illness, Cottee brushed off his symptoms, attributing them to sunstroke or food poisoning from a barbecue he had attended earlier that day.
In an exclusive interview with Surrey Live via BetSelect, Cottee said: “I was staying overnight in west London in a hotel due to a film an advert for Sky. I didn’t fancy driving from Southend to west London, four hours in a car in the morning. So I thought I’d stay in the hotel. And around about midnight, I just had this really, really bad pain in the middle of my forehead.
“Then I started getting really bad neck pain. Then I was sick. But me being me, I’m thinking, I played in a golf day and it was quite a warm day. It was 28 degrees. I’m thinking I’ve got sunstroke. I’d had a barbecue after the golf. So I’m thinking, I’ve got food poisoning.
“This is me. I’m not having a brain haemorrhage. I’m just thinking of all these different reasons. Anyway, I carried on through the night and then eventually, Phil Thompson came to my room, and then he got a doctor and I got referred.”
According to the NHS, a subarachnoid haemorrhage is indicated by several key signs including a severe headache, stiffness in the neck, nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, blurred or double vision, symptoms similar to a stroke such as slurred speech and weakness on one side of the body, and, in severe cases, loss of consciousness or seizures.
These headaches and feelings of sickness can also be associated with sunstroke and heat exhaustion, adding to the complexity of diagnosis. The same goes for sickness and diarrhoea, which could indicate food poisoning. Cottee shared that he was initially suspected to have meningitis when admitted to the hospital; however, it was only after a second brain scan revealed a minor bleed that the correct diagnosis was made.
He explained: “They’d done a lumbar puncture and all these tests, and they couldn’t it work out what it was. And then eventually, they’d done a second scan on my brain, and then they found I’d had a small bleed on the brain. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a nice experience, but I probably was about a three out of 10.
“If you have a 10 out of 10, you can fall over, and you’re gone, and there’s nothing you can do about it. So I was very, very fortunate from that point of view. But I took some time off.”
Having thankfully recovered fully, Cottee reflected on how this health scare has reformed his approach to life, propelling him to seize the day and create enduring memories with loved ones.
The former Hammers goalscorer reflected on the life-altering event, saying: “It happened, and I think it has changed my view on life. After that experience, I was very much, I wanted to live my life. I want to go on holiday. I want to be with my wife and my kids and everything as much as possible. I want to spend my money.
“What’s the point of dying and having loads of money? Not that I’ve got loads of money, but you know what I mean? Whatever you’ve got in relation, you should enjoy yourself in that. Sadly for me, in November last year, my brother died. My younger brother had a cardiac arrest and he died and nothing he could do about it. He was only 56, I’m 59.
“That has even more emphasised what I was thinking after my brain haemorrhage, that it’s a precious life. You’re not here for that long and you’ve really got to enjoy yourself and make the most of it. I think I’m 60 this year, big year for me, and I’m already planning all the holidays and we’re going here and doing that.
“You just hope, God willing, if you get there and you’re able to enjoy it. But if you have a major event like I did in 2019, it does change your perspective on life.”
