Luton’s Tom Lockyer opens up about his cardiac arrest he suffered at Bournemouth earlier this season and how his recovery is going.
The 29 year old was on punditry for Sky Sports, and gave an account of his cardiac arrest, while also speaking about how he has been doing since and how manager Rob Edwards has supported him.
The Luton captain talked about the challenges he has faced in his recovery, while also looking forward preparing for the arrival of a baby in the meantime.
David Jones: The first question, the obvious question is, how are you?
Lockyer: No, thanks, I’m doing well, I really am. Obviously, I’m incredibly lucky to be stood here and be in such good spirits, but. No, David, really, I am really. Well.
Jones: Were you aware of the kind of the feeling, not just amongst Luton fans but across all of football that was really waiting with bated breath for any news, any kind of announcements that were coming out of this football club?
Lockyer: Yeah, and it’s not something that happens every day, is it? So the eyes of the world were almost on us. So, yeah, it was nice to be able to come out and say, I am doing well. I think everyone deserves to know that and see me doing really well. So, yeah, I can’t lie, has been a tough couple of months but, yeah, I am well.
Jones: Take us back to that day, Tom. We all, I think, remember where we were when news broke that the game had been stopped first of all and then latterly abandoned with the game at one apiece. What do you remember about that day and what have you been able to piece together subsequently about exactly what happened?
Lockyer: I wish I could tell you, to be honest, because obviously, since I’ve been looking back, could it have been this, could it have been that? But it was just a normal day. And that’s probably the most worrying thing about it, is I felt completely fine. So, yeah, like I said, I’ve been looking for answers, searching for answers. But as far as I was aware, it was just another normal day at the office and it was all going well until what happened happened.
Jones: And tell us about exactly what you have been told since of what happened. You went down. You don’t remember anything of that?
Lockyer: So I was running up to the halfway line and I went really lightheaded and I remember thinking, I’ll be okay in a second. And eventually I wasn’t and I woke up and the paramedics and everyone was everywhere and obviously it was well documented, it happened back in May as well. But I knew instantly this time was different. Last time I woke up from almost a dream, and this time I woke up from a nothingness and I could see straight away that the paramedics and the physios, the club doc and everything, there was a little bit more panic around and I was a bit disorientated. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move, and I was just trying to take in, trying to work out what was happening. And while that was going on, I remember thinking, oh, I could be dying here. And it’s quite a surreal thought to have thinking that and not being able to move and respond, and you can see the panic that’s going on. I could feel them putting the drip in my arm and it was all quite a hard mix of emotions. And eventually I came round and I was able to speak and to respond. Once I came round and I felt okay, it was almost a relief that I’m alive. Obviously, I’m really fortunate it happened where it happened, but for me, I was just living it and almost feel that everyone watching it, and especially my family, have almost had it worse than I have.
Jones: Your heart stopped?
Lockyer: Yeah. So after what happened in May, I have a little recording device under the chest and, yeah, 2 minutes 40 seconds I was out for. And, yeah, I needed to have the defib to shock me back. And obviously massive thank you to the paramedics, the club docs, everyone who was involved that day, because without them, I wouldn’t be standing here.
Jones: Was it the speed of their actions then, the people around you that saved your life?
Lockyer: Yeah, without a doubt. And we’ve had success stories in the past before, obviously, Muamba, Eriksen, and maybe just the advances in the technology and the awareness to it all now, but this was the quickest one that has happened, and I’m forever grateful to that. The hardest thing, obviously, you can do all the training in the world, but I think when I spoke to them and they said the hardest thing was them knowing me as a person and there was real emotion involved with everything that was going on.
Jones: You had family there at the game as well, didn’t you?
Lockyer: Yeah. So my old man was there, and my girlfriend was seven months pregnant at the time. So instantly that’s where my thoughts go. Like I said, I kind of just woke up and as soon as I got my beer ins, I was okay. I felt fine. I didn’t have any soreness, any more lightheadedness, any pain, so I was just fine. And obviously, for them having to watch that my mum was at home listening on the radio with my brother and it was after Bournemouth scored, she was in a little bit of a fit, went out and made a cup of tea and when she came back, my brother had turned the radio off and she was like, what are you doing? And he had to say to her, oh, Tom’s gone down off the ball again. So it’s things like this, which is the bigger picture that I think a lot of people don’t see. And that’s probably the hardest thing to deal with, is that side of.
Jones: As you said, it has happened to other people and they have lived to tell the story. Some have even got their playing careers going in. Eriksen, who we might well see here later this afternoon, eight months after he went down in the euros, was back playing for Brentford. Did any of these guys reach out to you, their experiences?
Lockyer: Yeah, they’ve all been brilliant. I’ve spoke to Eriksen, Blind and Charlie Wyke, who have all had similar heart related conditions. And the one thing that was the common theme with them all was take your time, really just take your time to process what’s happened. And in a way, I don’t know whether I have processed what’s happened, but maybe because us as athletes, we are able to deal with things a little bit differently, we can compartmentalise and I don’t know whether it might come back and bite me on the bum, but I’ve not really had any emotions since what’s happened. Obviously, I know I literally died, but I’ve been quite numb to the whole thing since. But, yeah, them guys, the common theme there was take your time with things, make sure you do what’s right for you and your family. And like I said, my girlfriend, seven months pregnant, baby’s due now in ten months and that’s where my priority is at the minute.
Jamie Redknapp: Tom, when you see those pitches of Christian Eriksen running back on the pitch, does that make you think that’s what I want to do? Or are you thinking to yourself, well, I nearly died on a football pitch, I’ve captained Luton in the Premier League, I’ve scored a goal in the Premier League. I’ve achieved so much that, no, I’m done now, or do you still want to play again?
Lockyer: I think that’s out of my hands to a certain degree. Obviously, we’re going to be dictated to by the medical staff and the specialists. But what I would say is, if there is a chance I could play again, obviously I’m not going to do anything against any of the specialist recommendations, then I would love to. Obviously, it’s far too early to say at this time. There’s a lot more tests and things that need to happen in the background, but, yeah, I wouldn’t just write it off at the minute, but like I said, my priorities with the baby and the medical staff…
Redknapp: And doing a bit of punditry of us and. It suits you, mate. It suits you.
Lockyer: Nowhere else I’d rather be really
Jones: How did it feel going back to the training ground for the first time and seeing your teammates who’d almost been through that experience with you, Tom, as well?
Lockyer: Yeah, it was good. It was really nice to go in and see the faces and you get a little lift from that. But at the same time, it was hard because I was backing amongst it and I wanted to be involved in that way. And I remember sitting in on the meeting before the Brighton game and thinking, if I ever have to sit in on a meeting again and I’m never going to take it for granted because you know what it’s like when you have meeting after meeting when you’re playing that sometimes you just sit there and you’re like, oh, another meeting. And I remember just sitting there thinking, I wish this was applying to me. So it’s like what Jamie said, obviously, if the medical stuff comes back and I’m not allowed to play again, then I have to look at it as I have captain Luton in the Premier League and I have scored a Premier League…
Jones: Scored a goal. You scored a Premier League goal at ever. That must have been right up there as your special moments in your career.
Lockyer: Yeah, without a doubt, I’m very fortunate. I’ve had a lot of high moments in my career, but that is certainly up there. That is something you dream of as a kid. And I want an e slide as well. Look at that. Go on, the boys.
Jones: And how’s the gaffer been? He seems like an incredible, not just manager but a human being as well.
Lockyer: Yeah. Honestly, I couldn’t speak any higher of the man if I tried. What? I know the lads joke, but everything I do at the minute seems to make him cry. So he’s been getting a little bit of sick from the lads, but that just shows the incredible human that he is and he’s got a family first mentality within the club and the club had that anyway, but he’s just come in, reinforced it, his family, before everything else and he’s been up to the house to see me and the family. It just shows the incredible human he is and it makes you want to run through brick walls for him. Obviously it’s a bit hard for me to do that at the minute, but if I could support him in any way, then I’m going to try and do that.
Jones: You talked you know, being in the meetings and never taking those for granted again, Tom. But how else has this experience changed your perspective on life?
Lockyer: It’s hard to really say at the minute. Obviously I’m incredibly grateful to be alive and that’s a given, but I’ve got my device fitted now and it’s a weird one. Almost feel invincible. I know we were talking earlier
Redknapp: So to explain, that’s like an inbuilt defibrillator.
Lockyer: Yeah. When these incidences happen, you need someone to shock you back to life. Basically what this device does now is if that ever happens again, that will just kick in automatically, so you wouldn’t need to wait for someone like that. I’ve heard it’s not a nice experience because you’re alive when it happens and you feel that shock, but hopefully I’ll never need to experience one. But that is there just in case.
Jones: Yeah, well, of course. Hopefully not. And as you said, just to reiterate, you are taking it sort of day by day right now, almost, and waiting to see how this story finishes because you’re only 29. So there could still be a lot of football.
Lockyer: Yes. And like I said, I would like that, but there’s no way I’m going to go against any medical advice I receive. So, like I said, it’s way too early to put a time-frame on anything at the minute and make a decision at this time. So, yeah, it’s nice to. Obviously, I’ve been sat at home doing, like, legos and jigsaws and DIY, getting the baby’s room ready, but it’s nice to get out, like we said, go back into training and nice to come and join you guys today.
Curtis Davies: How big a conversation is that to sit down with not only your girlfriend who’s just about to have your baby, your mum, your dad, your brother. How big is that side of it as well? Because, as you said, you’re the athlete, you can almost take it on yourself and you handle everything on your shoulders. But knowing that they’ve watched you on the sidelines and stuff like that and the emotions that they were going through, how much will that play into your decision as well?
Lockyer: Yeah, it will. And in the past, I may have been quite selfish in decisions I’ve made. I think we all have been, as athletes, that I’ll do what’s best for me and you almost forget about your family. But now, having seen what they’ve had to deal with, with my situation and obviously the baby on the way, it’s made me almost. I feel a little bit guilty in the past for some of the decisions I’ve made. Obviously, we always want what’s best for us on the football pitch, but obviously, like I mentioned, the family always has to come first, and that’s made me realise that maybe I have been a little bit selfish in the past.
Luton boss Rob Edwards also spoke on Tom Lockyer’s cardiac arrest, revealing what he told his players before ‘breaking down’ in front of them.
He said via The Athletic: “I knew this time was different.
“As soon as I ran on, you could see. I don’t want to talk about it too much, but it was different. It was so so scary. The play-off final was different because he was very quickly awake, talking, and he was emotional at the time, probably a little bit confused. But clearly, this time, it was a cardiac arrest. He wasn’t responding.”
“You just go into… football doesn’t matter all. I turn around and I see (Lockyer’s partner) Taylor — who was pregnant, bless her — on the sideline. His dad is there. It was silent, the whole ground.
“I kind of broke down in front of the lads. I said, ‘I’m supposed to be a leader here, but I don’t know what to say. I can’t lead you right now at the moment’.
“But then there were some voices within the group. Everyone acted differently. (Forward) Carlton Morris spoke up and some members of the staff did as well. And that’s where you can see how strong we are as a unit — players and staff. I know I have to stand up and be the face of it most of the time, but that just showed our strength and our togetherness because I wasn’t in a position at that time to carry on.
“He was up and talking, which was incredible,” the manager says when Lockyer was in hospital.
No decision has yet been made on his future. “There’s no pressure from us,” Edwards says. “He’s got a baby on the way very soon. That’s the primary concern now for him and Taylor. That’s all I want them to focus on. After that, there will be a rehabilitation and that’s as far as I want to go or say at the moment. I’m sure he’s got his own ideas. It’s just about being fit for everyday life at the moment.
“It was emotional,” the manager says when Lockyer returned to the training ground. “I needed to speak about Tom. We wanted to try to embody him. At every team meeting and every game, we’ve got Locks’ shirt and captain’s armband there. He’s a really special person. He’s one of those who has got his own unique journey. To go from the National League (with Bristol Rovers) to the Premier League is incredible. We talked about that a lot. I wanted us to embody his journey and everything he is as a man and person. We’ve talked about that a lot.”
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Twitter users reacted as Luton’s Tom Lockyer opens up about his cardiac arrest and how his recovery is going…
@BedfordHatter: Didn’t think I could like Tom Lockyer any more than I did. The bloke is a diamond and a great role model. Probably the best captain in my 56 years following @LutonTown. Whatever he decides he’s a club legend 🧡
@CW_QPR_123: Absolutely fantastic to see Tom Lockyer looking well. I really hope he can play again.
@Sy48017864: Good to see him up and looking well….. somethings are bigger than football and rivalry!! Get well soon big man!!
@pbtffc: Great to see Tom Lockyer looking so well
@Tiff5757: Listening to Tom Lockyer. What an intelligent, sensible & likeable guy he comes across as 👏💪👌. After technically “dying” when he collapsed its good to hear he’s had a defib fitted & may be able to play again. Wishing him all the best🙏 #lockyer #LutonTown @SkySportsPL #tomlockyer
@_Greaney91x: What a guy Tom Lockyer is. Such a difficult situation to be in, hopefully there’s a back for you soon for Luton but also for Wales 🤞🏻
@_16ian: Great to see Tom Lockyer in good spirits. He’s had an awful run of luck. Comes across as a top bloke
@BurneyMcr1: Tom Lockyer comes across as really nice bloke and has taken both of his collapses on the pitch brilliantly. Listening to him I think he’ll probably have to take a step back and maybe go on the coaching staff. He’s right that his family and health comes first above everything 🙏🏼
@emilliemarshyy: I have so much respect for Tom Lockyer talking about what he’s gone through. Very open and honest conversation. So good to see him doing well. What a guy 👏
@sharonfairhead1: Seeing Tom Lockyer on TV speaking about his health, is heart warming , he’s a credit to all the people that helped him. He’s so thankful to be alive.
@AdamFountain14: What a bloke man. I personally, as sad as I am to say it, hope he never plays again man. Go be a family man, go be a dad, it’s the best feeling on this earth. Don’t jeopardise it. You’ve completed most little boys dream. Be sad to never see him play for us again. What a man 🧡🧡
@nathan_morris10: We are routing for this man. He’s been solid for Luton for years now. What’s happened to him is absolutely dreadful. Stay strong 💪
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