Former England and Nottingham Forest defender Stuart Pearce has thanked the staff who helped him following a recent health scare on a flight after being reunited with one of the attendants.
At the beginning of March, the 62-year-old experienced chest pains on board a flight from the United States, where he had been watching the Super League match between Wigan and Warrington.
The Las Vegas to Heathrow flight was diverted to St John’s in Canada and he spent five days in hospital recovering.
Pearce returned to commentary duties for the first time on March 21, where he was present at Wembley for talkSPORT’s coverage of England’s World Cup qualifier against Albania.
Speaking on ITV’s This Morning programme alongside his wife Carol on Monday, Pearce described the moments leading up to his medical emergency.
“At the airport my chest felt tight, a little bit heavy. I thought it might be indigestion or something of that nature, I got on the plane and it felt as though someone was sort of sat on my chest,” Pearce said.
“So after a couple of hours, I tried to sleep it off to be honest, and I should have picked my wording slightly better, I said to Carol, I said, ‘I don’t think I’m going to make Heathrow’ [but] I meant without telling the air crew!
“I was sort of in and out of consciousness. I was sleeping and then waking, sleeping and waking, and then next thing we know, we’re landing in Newfoundland.
“They think it was just a virus that affected my heart.”
Pearce’s wife Carol revealed her concern in that moment, adding: “For him to say he’s in pain, that immediately made my blood run cold, because you think, ‘OK, this is, this is serious’.
“Stuart doesn’t do being ill, he doesn’t do making a fuss. He played with a broken leg! So, I knew it was serious when he said to me, ‘I’m not going to make Heathrow’.”
Pearce was reunited on the programme with Virgin cabin crew manager Zoe Anderson, who was part of the team who tended to the former footballer, and she revealed how they hooked him up to an ECG heart monitor while relaying information through to a doctor on the ground.
“I can’t speak highly enough of the crew,” Pearce said.
“Quite incredible honestly, I always felt as though, if you get ill on an airplane…worst place in the world to be ill, but it’s sort of given me a new found rest assuredness if you like.”
