MIRACLE man Fabrice Muamba has told fans his cardiac arrest on the pitch in front of thousands of fans has left him fearing nothing.
The 24-year-old spoke to fans along with Dr Jonathan Tobin, the Wanderers club doctor who helped to save Fabrice’s life, at a Bolton Wanderers Supporters Association evening.
Fabrice said: “I used to be scared of certain things but now I am not scared of anything. I just keep living life as itisasIhaveno control over anything.” “My dream is just to have a long and healthy life everything else just takes of itself.”
Dr Tobin told fans he thought they had lost Fabrice after he showed no initial response to CPR.
He added: “I was panicking when we got on to the pitch and he was lying there. Me and the Spurs doctor were looking at each other and thinking ‘Are we really going to do CPR on a pitch with 36,000 people watching?’ Yes we were. When I got to the hospi- tal I went into the corridor, Phil Gartside arrived with Owen Coyle and Kevin Davies and I just said to them “he has gone”.”
But against all the odds, Fab- rice recovered.
He said a cardiologist with 20 years of experience has dealt with thousands of patients and had never seen anyone make such a good recovery after being effectively dead for so long.
Fabrice said: “I am just grateful I am alive and I am grateful I can get up and spend time with my friends and family.
“Every day whenever people came to see me in hospital I was always asking what was going on but it really hit me when Pier- mario Morosini, an Italian player, died after a car- diac arrest. He had the same thing as me.
“I realised things were a lot bigger than I thought. I am grateful I had the best people who did a great job on me.”
The retired footballer, who was forced to give up the game follow- ing the incident, said the life- changing event persuaded him to move his wedding to long-term partner Shauna forward a year.
They married at Peckforton Castle in Cheshire last October.
Fabrice said he is trying to decide where his future will take him, but wants to spread the word about cardiac arrests and the importance of defibrillators.
He added: “I just have to accept I will never play football. Some- times I watch at a distance because it hurts. It does get me angry because I think ‘why did this happen to me?’ but at the end of thedayIam here and I just have to enjoy life and spending time with family and friends.
“I want to raise awareness of cardiac arrests in sports people. It is not just me, it’s happened and hopefully I can save more lives.”
The life-saving actions of Dr Tobin has seen him in the media spotlight since the incident in March last year. Dr Tobin said: “What happened has changed me, it was an adrenalin rush and we are here now to see the result.
When I walked by a news stand and saw Fabrice was having a child it was just such a high and it puts everything into perspective.”
Fabrice said he still takes strong medication daily, but the amount has been reduced. He tried boxing, but was advised not to train. He hinted to fans that he could feature on Strictly Come Dancing after previously appear- ing on a Christmas special.
“There’s a chance I will be there, but until it’s written down on paper let’s wait and see. There’s a possibility I will be there for Bolton.”
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