Last winter, Charlie Wake, 29, collapsed during a training session and his heart stopped beating for four minutes.
Now he’s back in the game – against all odds.
Christian Eriksen has inspired me, says the Wigan player and boasts of the device that made an exciting comeback possible.
During a regular training session on November 22, Charlie Wake had a sudden heart attack and collapsed in front of his shocked teammates and coaches.
– The last thing I remember is how I go to the coach to tell him I’m broke, but I can’t even get the words out. When I wake up, my shirt is open, the entire management staff is bent over me and I have no idea what’s going on, he told Sky Sports.
Nine months later, Charlie Wake – against all odds – is back in action.
Last weekend, he made a famous comeback for his Wigan in the tournament with a successful tackle as he was behind the winning goal after a few minutes on the field.
“My whole family was sitting in the stands and I think it was the first time I saw my dad cry,” Wake says.
Inspired by Eriksen
In an interview with Sky Sports, he demonstrated the device that made the dramatic comeback possible – the implantable defibrillator that saves him if his heart starts beating again.
It’s the same type of pacemaker that Christian Eriksen operated on after his cardiac arrest during the European Commission’s tenure last summer.
I remember sitting and watching that game and thinking how unfortunate you were for something like this to happen to you. Four months later he hit me. But it was Eriksen who inspired me to come back. If he doesn’t, I probably won’t be able to. Wakee says, I needed to see someone else do it to find motivation.
“The hardest journey”
He says life with a pacemaker is special.
The first thing he does every morning is upload his values into an app, which his cardiologist accesses and analyzes.
It’s safe to know someone is watching me. He (the doctor) is like a family member now. This was the hardest ride I’ve ever had, but it also gave me an inner strength that I didn’t think existed. A lot of people say I’m mentally the strongest person they know, but I don’t see it that way. Charlie Wake says I only see him because I have no other choice.