Jackie McNamara interview: ‘They put me into an induced coma and told my wife I might not wake up’

Former Celtic captain on the operation that saved his life

Jackie McNamara suffered a brain haemorrhage at his home in Malton, Yorkshire. Picture: Ross Parker/SNS

It had been a pleasant and relaxing Saturday morning in the market town of Malton in North Yorkshire, where Jackie McNamara and his wife Samantha have made their family home.

Having just returned from a walk with their three dogs, the couple had turned their attention to some minor chores in the garden. It was at that moment on 8 February this year that their world was turned upside down.

“There was a small branch I was going to cut back and I suddenly felt myself coming over all strange,” recalls McNamara.

Jackie McNamara with the Scottish Cup in 2005 which he lifted as Celtic captain after a 1-0 over Dundee United. Picture: Alan Harvey/SNS

“I said to Sam: ‘I don’t feel well, I don’t feel right’. Then I fell forward on to the stones and blanked out, lost all power. It was just out of the blue, I’d been feeling fine before that.”

Fifteen weeks later, McNamara is happily on the road to recovery and again enjoying walks around Malton with James, Jerry and George, his Italian greyhound, miniature Schnauzer and miniature Dachshund, who bore witness to the collapse which left him so close to death.

If resilience and mental strength were among the former Celtic captain’s greatest assets during his playing career, they have never been so valuable as in the past three months as the 46-year-old has battled his way back to health.

It has been both physically and emotionally draining for McNamara but he is now robust enough to speak for the first time about his ordeal.

Jackie McNamara went head to head with his father, Jackie snr, when he was a player for Celtic and his dad was assistant manager at Hibs. Picture: Susan Burrell

“The next thing I remember after collapsing was Sam trying to get me to come around and one of the dogs licking my face,” he told The Scotsman. “I was being sick as well.

“Sam had called for an ambulance and, fortunately, there were paramedics nearby in Malton. Had they not been there, I don’t think I would have made it. Within five minutes, they were with us.

“They got fluids into me and got me to the hospital in York. They did a scan and discovered I’d had a subarachnoid brain haemorrhage.

“It’s one of those things you might have had from birth – you just don’t know what causes it or brings it on.

“I’ve always tried to keep as fit as possible since I stopped playing. I’d been up in Edinburgh on business on the Thursday before it happened and went to a gym there, running on the treadmill and other stuff. There was no sign of anything untoward.”

After the initial diagnosis, McNamara was quickly transferred to the specialist neurosurgery unit at Hull Royal Infirmary.

By this stage, his children Erin, Sidney and Evie had been joined at the hospital by other family members, including his dad Jackie snr, the former Hibs captain having flown in from his home in Spain.

“I was kind of drifting in and out of consciousness,” he says. “I was aware the family were around and I also remember my friend Jason McGill, the York City owner, and his wife Mandy were waiting at the hospital when we got there.

“The pain in my head, the pressure on my brain, was excruciating. The surgeon gave me two options – to wait until Monday morning and operate through the groin to put platinum coils in the artery, or go in straight away through the head and clamp it, which is more invasive.

“I asked the surgeon what he would do if it was his son and he said he would wait and use the coils. So that’s what I decided to do. But that night, the pain was horrendous with hydrocephalus (water on the brain). I had to get a lumbar puncture on the Sunday morning, which was such a relief. I’ve had lumbar punctures before when I was playing, which I hated, but this one was such a relief in easing the pressure in my head.

“I had the operation on the Monday. They said it would take two hours, but it ended up taking five hours. I wasn’t waking up from it, so they put me into an induced coma.

“When they put the coils in, I had another bleed on the damaged artery. At that point, they told Sam I might not wake up. It was obviously a bit of a scare, although unbeknown to me at that point.

“The next day, I came out of the coma, not really knowing what was going on. I know a lot of people came to visit me, but I can’t really remember much about it.”

McNamara’s condition remained critical but stable at that stage and his route to recovery had many complications still to overcome.

“They tell you that the seven days after surgery can be dangerous,” he said. “It was about 12 days after the operation that I started to have vasospasms, which basically affect the bloodflow in your brain.

“That was a strange experience and it affected my speech. I knew what I was trying to say, but couldn’t get my words out. I was talking to my dad in the hospital room at the time and he thought I was just tired. Sam came in and she knew right away something was wrong. The nurse was called and they put me back into intensive care again. At that point, the fear was that I’d had a stroke. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case and I started to improve.

“I got out of hospital at the start of March. I was still having headaches, which was normal because they say that’s expected for up to a year afterwards, but they were really severe and I ended up having to go back into hospital.

“I had hydrocephalus again and another lumbar puncture but the pain only subsided for so long. So they decided to put a shunt in to relieve the pressure on the brain. I got that on 17 March.

“They let me out again on the 18th but I ended up going straight back in because I just couldn’t stop being sick. It was horrendous. It was actually the same paramedics who saved me at the start who picked me up again at my house to take me back in, so that gave me the chance to personally thank them.

“I got out again on 23 March and I’ve been at home since then recovering. I’ve been back once for a scan and they are looking good.

“Initially, they thought I’d have to have another operation to put a stent in my brain but they say I don’t need it now, which is a real bonus because I wasn’t too keen on going back in again. They’ve told me it will be a case of getting another scan a few months down the line. I’m just recovering now. I’m taking anti-seizure tablets but I feel good.

“I got out the last time just as the coronavirus pandemic was taking hold and visitors at the hospital were being restricted. I feel very fortunate to be back home with the family and I’m so appreciative of the work all of the medical professionals do in this country.

“The paramedics were 
amazing with me, so was the specialist nurse at Hull Royal Infirmary. She was brilliant with me and the family. We still keep in touch with her.

“I’ve had first hand experience of how incredible the NHS is, every department of it. The people who looked after us were fantastic.”

In addition to walking his dogs, McNamara has also started cycling as he looks to regain optimum fitness.

“It’s just a case of building myself back up,” he said. “The lockdown has given me the chance to recover.

“I still get headaches, so it’s a case of taking it easy and not jumping straight back into everything I was doing before.

“I am feeling much better. I’m sleeping better – I struggled to sleep much at all when I first came home from hospital. It feels like a long time since it happened. I can’t drive for another six months but I’m looking forward to getting out and seeing people. I can’t wait to see a game of football again.”

But in an indication that his dry sense of humour is fully restored, McNamara reveals there is one physical activity he will avoid from now on.

“It wasn’t even a big branch I was cutting that day when I collapsed, it was just a small thing,” he laughed.

“But it’s a good excuse for me to get out of any gardening work from now on.”

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