Under the microscope
CAN YOU RUN UP THE STAIRS? WELL, I prefer to walk these days. I’ve always enjoyed a bit of exercise. I do 40 minutes every other day, including stretches and running on the spot. I still travel with the Yorkshire County Cricket Club to their matches to keep active. GET YOUR FIVE A DAY? YES, I eat healthily, I don’t even own a frying pan. I eat a lot of fish such as salmon and mackerel. For my breakfast, I’ll have blueberries, raisins and yoghurt, along with cornflakes with skimmed milk. My treat is going out for Sunday lunch. I’m 5ft 10in and 11 st 6lb. I’ve never dieted. WORST ILLNESS? I HAD a stroke in 2009. I awoke at 3am with pain shooting from the top of my neck down my spine. I was on my own — I never married, I gave my life to cricket. Luckily, I managed to dial 999. But in that short time, my voice vanished. Fortunately the call was traced and an ambulance arrived. I was in hospital for four weeks. I lost my voice completely and had no feeling down my left side. My voice came back gradually, but I have to speak slowly now — otherwise I can’t get the words out properly. Initially walking was hard. Now I walk to the village shops and back every day. ANY FAMILY AILMENTS? HIGH blood pressure, which was a contributing factor to my stroke. In the months before it, I’d been having funny turns with dizziness. HAD ANYTHING REMOVED? NO, BUT I’ve had something put in. I was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat a year before my stroke. I’d blacked out in a restaurant in Barnsley and an ambulance was called. I then had a pacemaker put in — I’ve just had a new one, as the old one was at the end of its lifespan. COPE WELL WITH PAIN? PRETTY well, I’m definitely a fighter. Typical stubborn Yorkshireman! TRIED ALTERNATIVE REMEDIES? I’VE BEEN told that acupuncture is good for back pain, so I’ve often thought of giving it a go. After 13 years’ playing cricket and then another 50-odd umpiring, my back can give me trouble. EVER BEEN DEPRESSED? NO, BUT I’m a big worrier. I lock all my doors and put my alarms on, but I’m always turning back to check. My nerves have always got the better of me, especially just before going onto the pitch to umpire. But once I was out there, being broadcast all around the world, I was a different man. ANY PHOBIAS? LOSING my ability to talk. I was very outgoing before my stroke. It was frightening to have been rendered speechless and I’m more shy now. LIKE TO LIVE FOR EVER? I’D LIKE to live to see Barnsley promoted — but not if I was a cabbage.
dickie is an ambassador for the children’s heart Surgery Fund at Leeds General infirmary chsf.org.uk