Stuart Pearce has revealed how doctors were forced to restart his heart as he spoke publicly for the first time after being discharged from hospital. Pearce suffered a serious health scare which occurred during a flight from Las Vegas last week. The 70-cap former England international spent eight days in hospital in Canada after the plan was diverted when he experienced chest pains during a flight back to the UK on March 7. The former Nottingham Forest and Manchester City manager was released from hospital on Monday and was left to recuperate in North America. In his first interview since the incident, Pearce thanked the medical staff that treated him and insisted he was on the mend to making a full recovery.
On his return journey to the UK, Pearce, 62, complained of chest pains during the flight and required medical treatment from staff onboard the Virgin Atlantic aircraft. The plane was forced to make an unexpected stop when it became apparent that Pearce would need to be transported to hospital. Pilots were forced to abort their flight plan and landed in the city of St John’s, Canada, due to the medical emergency. Speaking on talkSPORT on the ‘White and Jordan’ show, Pearce said: “My heart rate was racing, my resting heart rate from the time I was monitored on the airplane was anything about 155 beats a minute. That was ridiculous really. Also my heart wasn’t pumping enough blood around the system and there was some swelling. At the end of the week, they told me they were going to stick a tube down my throat and if there’s no swelling, we’ll stop your heart and reboot it again. That’s exactly what they did on Friday, my heart went back to a normal rate and they released me the following day.”
Still recuperating in Canada, Pearce said he feels “absolutely brilliant” as he praised staff on the Virgin Atlantic fight for taking care of him. However, he clarified that the crew that tended to his aid and confirmed there were no doctors or medics on board amongst passengers.
“I’m in good form, just on the flight I had chest pains and stuff like that. The crew on Virgin were brilliant, looked after me fantastically,” he said. “They said ‘we’re not going to take the chance travelling across the Atlantic, we’re going to drop you off’. I’ve been in Newfoundland for 10 days now, just five days in hospital and a few days out. The only downside is our bags went onto London and we were left with Martin Keown’s autobiography!”
He added: “I’ve got a virus that sort of attached itself to my heart that needed clearing, rebooting and going through the process. When I get home, I’ll have some medical checks there. But I feel brilliant in myself. I’m in really good hands. The people in the hospital have been brilliant, the people in Canada have been fantastic.”
Pearce is now taking medication as he begins his road to recovery and revealed he was able to watch football matches while he was in hospital. The ex-England caretaker boss showed his gratitude to his club Nottingham Forest, where he spent 12 years of his playing career, after they sent well wishes to him before their Premier League game on Saturday.
“I can’t speak highly enough, I’ve got to say. I’ve had some brilliant messages from people,” he added. “[His partner] Carol’s been fantastic looking after us. I’ve been fortunate enough to watch a few games, the [Nottingham] Forest game against Manchester City was very, very humbling. I saw that and saw the bits of pieces that came out from that and thank you for your messages and support. It is very, very humbling.”
Pearce won 78 caps for England between 1987 and 1999, featuring in the team that reached the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup. He spent the majority of his club career with Forest, making over 500 appearances before enjoying shorter spells with Newcastle, West Ham and City later in his career.
He went on to coach both Forest and City early in his management career before a six-year tenure as England’s Under-21s boss. Pearce was then appointed England caretaker boss in 2012 and had one more stint at the City Ground before moving into punditry.
