West Ham icon Tony Cottee was rushed to hospital after falling ill in a hotel, and while he initially thought his symptoms were down to sunstroke or food poisoning, the reality was far more severe
Former Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday pundit Tony Cottee has opened up about the terrifying moment he mistook a life-threatening brain haemorrhage for sunstroke.
The 59-year-old was in west London filming an ad for Sky in 2019 when he experienced excruciating pain in his forehead. Despite his tough mentality, the severity of his condition became apparent after a night of worsening symptoms.
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.”
The NHS details the key symptoms of a subarachnoid haemorrhage as including 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.
Cottee shared his harrowing experience, revealing that doctors initially suspected meningitis when he was rushed to hospital. He added: “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.”
Now fully recovered, Cottee reflected on how the ordeal has transformed his perspective on life, inspiring him to embrace every moment and create lasting memories with loved ones.
He explained: “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.”