Luton’s Tom Lockyer says he ‘literally died’ during cardiac arrest on pitch
The Luton captain, Tom Lockyer, said it felt like he “literally died” when he had a cardiac arrest on the pitch in December and whether he plays football again is “out of his hands”.
Lockyer’s heart stopped for 2min 40sec during Luton’s abandoned Premier League game against Bournemouth. The 29-year-old, who also collapsed during the Championship playoff final victory against Coventry in May, was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator after spending five days in hospital.
Speaking at length for the first time since the incident, Lockyer said he was grateful to still be alive. “I have been looking for answers since but I have not been able to find any, because it was just another day at the office,” he told Sky Sports before Luton’s home game against Manchester United on Sunday.
“I was running towards the halfway line and I went really light headed. I thought I’d be OK in a second but I wasn’t. I woke up and the paramedics were there. I knew instantly it was different to my collapse in May. Last time it felt like I woke up from a dream, and this time I woke up from nothingness.
“I could see there was more panic and I was a bit disorientated. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move,” the centre-back said. “I was trying to work out what was happening, and I remember thinking: ‘I could be dying here.’ It was a surreal thought to have, not being able to respond, and you can see the panic going on.
“I literally died but I have been numb to the whole thing since. I don’t know if I have processed what happened. I don’t know if it will come back and bite me on the bum, but I have not had any emotions since. I am not going to lie, it has been a tough couple of months.”
“Following what happened in May, I have a recording device in my chest, and I was out for two minutes and 40 [seconds]. It was hardest on my family having to watch that. They had it worse than me. My old man was there [at the match] and my girlfriend was seven months pregnant at the time.”
Lockyer was welcomed back to Luton’s training ground last month by his teammates and he still hopes to return to playing professional football. But the Wales defender acknowledged that his chances are dependent on medical advice.
“It is out of my hands,” he said. “I am going to be dictated to by the medical staff and specialists.
If there is a chance I could play again – and I am not going to do anything against medical advice – then I would love to.
“But it is far too early to say. There are tests that have to happen in the background. But I wouldn’t write it off yet. I am incredibly grateful to be alive. I have the device fitted now, and I almost feel invincible.”
Lockyer praised the Luton manager, Rob Edwards, for his support. “I couldn’t speak any higher of the man if I tried,” he said. “He has been to see me and my family, and it just shows the incredible human he is. It makes you want to run through brick walls for him – although obviously that’s hard for me to do at the minute.”