Tony Cottee has recounted how he mistook a brain haemorrhage for sunstroke in 2019.
The West Ham United icon was staying at a west London hotel for a Sky advertisement shoot when he began experiencing severe pain in his forehead. Despite the discomfort, Cottee’s tough mentality led him to brush off the symptoms as either sunstroke or food poisoning.
In an exclusive chat 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, the primary symptoms of a subarachnoid haemorrhage include a severe headache, a stiff neck, nausea and vomiting, sensitivity to light, blurred or double vision, stroke-like symptoms such as slurred speech and weakness on one side of the body, and loss of consciousness or convulsions. These symptoms also overlap with those of sunstroke, heat exhaustion, and food poisoning, which include headaches, sickness, and diarrhoea.
Cottee revealed that doctors initially suspected he had meningitis when he was first admitted to hospital, but a second brain scan detected a small bleed. He said: “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.” After his full recovery, Cottee shared that the ordeal has changed his perspective on life, inspiring him to live more fully and create memories with his loved ones.
He added: “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.”