This might have been mentioned already .. Tom underwent heart surgery during the close season .. SURGERY, intrusive stuff .. did he come back far too soon ?
I imagine he was given the all clear, but I take your point.
Whilst in King's waiting for my bypass three years ago, the experts said that with your health, in many ways it is a lottery. My diet and lifestyle contributed to my heart attack, but professional sportsman being extremely fit and leading a healthy lifestyle bring me back to what I was told in August 2020.
My daughter has one of these after her cardiac arrest. They are truly amazing, not only will they shock the heart immediately after a cardiac arrest they also have a pace maker that can help correct irregular rhythms before a cardiac arrest. The leads connecting the device to the heart work like a permanent ECG so when the device is checked they can see all the activity on the heart since the last check. My daughters one works on blue tooth so they just link an iPad to it to check it and she has an app on her phone so we can send readouts straight to her cardiologist if she is experiencing any kind of symptoms.
One of the reasons Lockyer is out of hospital so quickly is that he was able to be defibrillated almost immediately after his cardiac arrest which meant he didn’t have to be put in an induced coma while his body recovered. If you’re going to have an out of hospital cardiac arrest have it in a professional football stadium!
I do think there is a chance Lockyer will return to playing now he has an ICD. The barrier to that is more likely to be any meds he is prescribed to prevent the arrhythmia, he would obviously get a therapeutic use exemption, but if he ends up on high dose beta blockers it’s unluckily he would be able to get his heart up to a high enough level for professional football. Might help for penalty shootouts though.
My daughter has one of these after her cardiac arrest. They are truly amazing, not only will they shock the heart immediately after a cardiac arrest they also have a pace maker that can help correct irregular rhythms before a cardiac arrest. The leads connecting the device to the heart work like a permanent ECG so when the device is checked they can see all the activity on the heart since the last check. My daughters one works on blue tooth so they just link an iPad to it to check it and she has an app on her phone so we can send readouts straight to her cardiologist if she is experiencing any kind of symptoms.
One of the reasons Lockyer is out of hospital so quickly is that he was able to be defibrillated almost immediately after his cardiac arrest which meant he didn’t have to be put in an induced coma while his body recovered. If you’re going to have an out of hospital cardiac arrest have it in a professional football stadium!
I do think there is a chance Lockyer will return to playing now he has an ICD. The barrier to that is more likely to be any meds he is prescribed to prevent the arrhythmia, he would obviously get a therapeutic use exemption, but if he ends up on high dose beta blockers it’s unluckily he would be able to get his heart up to a high enough level for professional football. Might help for penalty shootouts though.
Interesting insight - glad your daughter is ok . I guess Blind and Eriksen show it can happen although each case must be different
Thanks @wmcf123 And you’re right each case is different and depends on the cause of the cardiac arrest and what treatment is needed afterwards. I have to say, great as it is that Erickson returned I do feel a bit sorry for his partner, it must be so anxiety provoking every time he plays.
My daughter has one of these after her cardiac arrest. They are truly amazing, not only will they shock the heart immediately after a cardiac arrest they also have a pace maker that can help correct irregular rhythms before a cardiac arrest. The leads connecting the device to the heart work like a permanent ECG so when the device is checked they can see all the activity on the heart since the last check. My daughters one works on blue tooth so they just link an iPad to it to check it and she has an app on her phone so we can send readouts straight to her cardiologist if she is experiencing any kind of symptoms.
One of the reasons Lockyer is out of hospital so quickly is that he was able to be defibrillated almost immediately after his cardiac arrest which meant he didn’t have to be put in an induced coma while his body recovered. If you’re going to have an out of hospital cardiac arrest have it in a professional football stadium!
I do think there is a chance Lockyer will return to playing now he has an ICD. The barrier to that is more likely to be any meds he is prescribed to prevent the arrhythmia, he would obviously get a therapeutic use exemption, but if he ends up on high dose beta blockers it’s unluckily he would be able to get his heart up to a high enough level for professional football. Might help for penalty shootouts though.
Amazing what can be done nowadays. Best wishes to your daughter.
Thanks @wmcf123 And you’re right each case is different and depends on the cause of the cardiac arrest and what treatment is needed afterwards. I have to say, great as it is that Erickson returned I do feel a bit sorry for his partner, it must be so anxiety provoking every time he plays.
So pleased that your daughter is doing well and sharing the information GP. I agree the nearest and dearest suffer and all cases most be slightly different as has been proved with some players retiring and some carrying on playing, with some sadly passing on after collapsing on the field.
The problem is after collapsing twice for Tom Lockyer, the second time being a cardiac arrest, the anxiety levels will be high for his family, friends and apprehension for his colleges, coaches and fans alike.
Being fit for general life compared to pushing your body as a professional athlete are poles apart and I trust the risk assessment for Tom is made clear to him.
It will be an unbelievably difficult decision as to what Tom decides to do moving forward. The ICD might give him the opportunity to return but I'm sure that he will be only too well aware of the affect that his situation has had on those nearest and dearest to him especially given Tom's partner is seven months pregnant. He admitted that he was nervous about returning before but was assured that it was nothing life threatening. This was different but, clearly, it was also something that all the tests that he previously undertook failed to pick up. If he had any anxiety before then I can't begin to think how he and his family will feel if and when he returns and specifically each and every time he goes into a tackle and stays down. That will go too for his team mates, his Manager, Rob Edwards (who was so visibly upset), the coaching staff, the fans, the officials, the medical staff and even the opposition players - the likes of Philip Billing who was the first to rush over and help Tom.
It's times such as this that I think of Bill Shankly's well quoted phrase that “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.” However he never meant this to be taken as literally as it sounded - he was trying to emphasise, in a wholly exaggerated way, how much football meant to him. The reality of football and how that had affected his relationship with his family was actually revealed by him once he had retired - "So I put all my heart and soul into it, to the extent that my family suffered." When asked "Do you regret that at all?" he replied "Yeah I regret it very much".
Tom has risen to the very top of the game - an international who has captained his club in the greatest league in the world. To walk away from playing, even at the age of 29, will be a hellish one but, if he does choose to, absolutely no one will blame him and a lot of those close to him I'm sure will be relieved if he does. He owes football absolutely nothing but if he does want to stay in the game then I'm equally certain that any number of opportunities will be open to him including that of coaching.
I wish him well, with the advice of his loved ones and the top medical experts, in making his decision but, ultimately Tom needs to know that football fans who know him and his dedication on and off the pitch will always love him back - whatever path he chooses to take.
Yeah Top guy, one of the few players I miss not playing for Charlton. I am trying to avoid the most comment catchphrase to use, and so I will say it in another way. He always gave 200% and put his body on the line. The amoubnt of times and goals he "saved" from blocked shots etc.
Congrats to him and his other half. He now has something more important than football to consider when making any decisions about his future.
Fantastic news for Tom and his "missus" as he refers to her. As Tom has intimated, his perspective on life had changed with the arrival of his daughter, as it has done, I'm sure, for anyone who has ever become a parent. I hope that, despite any urge to get back out there, whether that is now or in the future, that this "nappy factor" will make him appreciate even more that he has nothing to prove as a footballer to himself, his family or the fans.
With that new perspective, one fantastic thing that Tom might be encouraged to endorse would be a game to raise money for a charity such as CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young). A local lad, Ben Daniels who played cricket for Old Elthamians CC, went to Ravens Wood School, played football for Ex Blues FC and tennis at Bromley Tennis Club tragically passed away in 2011 as a result of an undiagnosed and undetected heart condition and his father has been heavily involved in CRY since. In addition, as I've mentioned previously on here, a friend of my son's, Ben, suffered a cardiac arrest in Australia some 18 months ago but thankfully, Ben survived (purely by the grace of God or luck whichever way one wants to look at it) and subsequently had the same op as Tom to fit a defib. Last summer Ben raised tens of thousands for the cause and a game, say at the end of the season, where Tom could ask any number of names to play be they pros or celebrities, would go even further to help such charities.
Comments
My diet and lifestyle contributed to my heart attack, but professional sportsman being extremely fit and leading a healthy lifestyle bring me back to what I was told in August 2020.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/other/footballer-has-heart-device-fitted-after-cardiac-arrest-collapse/ar-AA1lQppA?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=887ceac39160424fa5f0989c49d5cfec&ei=47
I do think there is a chance Lockyer will return to playing now he has an ICD. The barrier to that is more likely to be any meds he is prescribed to prevent the arrhythmia, he would obviously get a therapeutic use exemption, but if he ends up on high dose beta blockers it’s unluckily he would be able to get his heart up to a high enough level for professional football. Might help for penalty shootouts though.
Best wishes to your daughter.
So pleased that your daughter is doing well and sharing the information GP.
I agree the nearest and dearest suffer and all cases most be slightly different as has been proved with some players retiring and some carrying on playing, with some sadly passing on after collapsing on the field.
The problem is after collapsing twice for Tom Lockyer, the second time being a cardiac arrest, the anxiety levels will be high for his family, friends and apprehension for his colleges, coaches and fans alike.
Being fit for general life compared to pushing your body as a professional athlete are poles apart and I trust the risk assessment for Tom is made clear to him.
It's times such as this that I think of Bill Shankly's well quoted phrase that “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.” However he never meant this to be taken as literally as it sounded - he was trying to emphasise, in a wholly exaggerated way, how much football meant to him. The reality of football and how that had affected his relationship with his family was actually revealed by him once he had retired - "So I put all my heart and soul into it, to the extent that my family suffered." When asked "Do you regret that at all?" he replied "Yeah I regret it very much".
Tom has risen to the very top of the game - an international who has captained his club in the greatest league in the world. To walk away from playing, even at the age of 29, will be a hellish one but, if he does choose to, absolutely no one will blame him and a lot of those close to him I'm sure will be relieved if he does. He owes football absolutely nothing but if he does want to stay in the game then I'm equally certain that any number of opportunities will be open to him including that of coaching.
I wish him well, with the advice of his loved ones and the top medical experts, in making his decision but, ultimately Tom needs to know that football fans who know him and his dedication on and off the pitch will always love him back - whatever path he chooses to take.
Tom Lockyer: I was technically dead for two minutes 40 seconds after cardiac arrest
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/68346337
Luton Town's Tom Lockyer becomes dad after cardiac arrest
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-68510518With that new perspective, one fantastic thing that Tom might be encouraged to endorse would be a game to raise money for a charity such as CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young). A local lad, Ben Daniels who played cricket for Old Elthamians CC, went to Ravens Wood School, played football for Ex Blues FC and tennis at Bromley Tennis Club tragically passed away in 2011 as a result of an undiagnosed and undetected heart condition and his father has been heavily involved in CRY since. In addition, as I've mentioned previously on here, a friend of my son's, Ben, suffered a cardiac arrest in Australia some 18 months ago but thankfully, Ben survived (purely by the grace of God or luck whichever way one wants to look at it) and subsequently had the same op as Tom to fit a defib. Last summer Ben raised tens of thousands for the cause and a game, say at the end of the season, where Tom could ask any number of names to play be they pros or celebrities, would go even further to help such charities.