Footballer Adam Dodd made his return to football just seven months on from nearly losing his life following a cardiac arrest.
The 29-year-old footballer plays for FC United of Manchester in the seventh tier of the footballing pyramid, but his days on the pitch were nearly cut short after a terrifying near miss last June.
The Kirkham-born left-back and his girlfriend Kat went to bed as normal on 3 June, 2022, but she woke up hours later “to the sounds of me in cardiac arrest”, as Dodd puts it.
After performing CPR for a terrifying 16 minutes straight and receiving a total of four defibrillator shocks, Dodd was rushed to hospital and fitted with a life-saving ICD (Implantable Cardioverter Defib).
While paramedics admitted at the time that his chances looked slim, he woke up from a coma just four days later and has now managed to make a full comeback, not only returning to training and being restored to the squad but even featuring as a substitute earlier this month. Simply incredible.
🙌 Doddy's back!
He's fought huge three battles and now rejoins the squad for the Whitby game, looking to make his 100th appearance on Saturday
He tells his story here and pays tribute to everyone who got him to this point https://t.co/rWN8RhKdmD
Having been subbed on in a landmark 100th appearance for the Manchester United phoenix club’s games against Whitby Town, Dodd received a rousing reception from fans of both teams, playing 20 minutes to see out the 2-2 draw.
Speaking in an interview with the MEN, ‘Doddy’ explained the various aspects of his recovery, contracting pneumonia and developing pleurisy while in hospital, which he described as “probably the worst two weeks of my life.”
Even after returning home, he detailed how he “was waking up trying to catch [his] breath… in a pool of sweat” and enduring pain akin to “drowning and being stabbed in the back at the same time”.
Having been fitted with the same device as the likes of Christian Eriksen and Daley Blind – who both collapsed following a cardiac arrest while still on the pitch – Dodd received a signed shirt from the midfielder back in November when he first returned to Broadhurst Park.
☺️ We had a very special guest at Broadhurst Park today as Adam 'Doddy' Dodd came to the game today, & he was presented with an FC shirt by manager Neil Reynolds, inscribed with the message
"To Adam, don't ever give up, Christian Eriksen" and signed
Dodd lost three stone while in hospital, suffering a broken rib and sternum following the intense period of CPR, meaning that he had to rebuild significant muscle mass on top of his normal period of recovery to stand a chance of playing football again.
Nevertheless, he spent the rest of 2022 aiming to get back on the pitch in the New Year. Just seven days into January and the self-employed plumber achieved his goal and now, despite FC United’s most recent game being called off over the weekend, he is now back in contention for matchday squads.
Featured Image — FC United of Manchester (via Twitter)
News
Tatton Park makes decision to temporarily close gate after visitor is attacked by rutting deer
Emily Sergeant
Tatton Park has made the decision to temporarily close one of its gates after a member of the public following a ‘recent change in deer activity’.
It comes after ‘a couple of injuries’ despite warnings and a large amount of signage across the park.
The decision to close the Knutsford gate had to be taken by Tatton management with input from Cheshire East Council’s health and safety manager, and its director of growth and enterprise, along with ‘expert advice’ from the leading deer vet who works across many deer parks in the UK.
The Knutsford gate will be closed to pedestrians and vehicles ‘until further notice’, but the Dog Wood entrance and the main Rostherne entrance will remain open.
Tatton Park cited a current ‘larger number’ of stags than usual found feeding on fallen acorns near the Knutsford entrance, and an overall ‘recent shift in our deer herd’s behaviour during the rutting season’ as the reason for the gate’s closure in a statement shared to social media this week.
Rutting season – which refers to the autumn deer breeding season, typically from late September to early November in the UK – is when deer herds may exhibit aggression if approached.
“If you come across wild deer whilst visiting, we strongly advise you take an alternative route,” the park said in its statement.
The park’s Operations Team added in a statement, as reported by the MEN: “Despite all warnings, a large amount of signage, staff being on hand to advise people to avoid the deer, and all efforts to try to re-route people and get them to stop approaching the deer, we have unfortunately had a couple of injuries.”
One of the ‘injuries’ referred to was an incident involving 67-year-old man named Rod Savage, who was reportedly hurled up in the air after a large stag suddenly appeared and charged at him with his antlers, puncturing his stomach.
Tatton Park temporarily closes its gate after a visitor is attacked by rutting deer / Credit: Diana Parkhouse (via Unsplash)
The terrifying ordeal happened just 300 yards inside the Knutsford entrance, contributing to the gate’s temporary closure.
Tatton Park has now issued warnings and advice to all future visitors.
People are being told to ‘never walk between the deer’ and ‘never put yourself between deer and a fence’, while always maintaining a safe distance of 50m or more when possible, and ultimately remaining vigilant and fully-aware of your surroundings at all times.
“We’ll be monitoring the situation daily and continue to provide updates,” the park concluded in its statement on social media.
“We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.”
Featured Image – Diana Parkhouse (via Unsplash)
News
Shocking new study reveals that almost 100 people a day are caught drink-driving
Emily Sergeant
Nearly 100 drivers a day in Britain have had ‘drink-drive endorsements’ added to their licences in the past three years, a shocking new study has revealed.
Alarmingly, it’s people between the ages of 25 and 39 that are the most frequently penalised for drink-driving – with around 48,000 drivers in this age bracket being handed endorsements, followed closely by 40,000 drivers aged 40 to 65.
In contrast, only 15,000 drivers aged 17 to 24 were penalised, and a mere 3,000 over-65s received points on their licence between 2022 and 2024.
It’s all according to a study by road safety charity, IAM RoadSmart, using data obtained from the DVLA via a Freedom of Information request.
A shocking new study has revealed that almost 100 people a day are caught drink-driving / Credit: Pexels
Drivers caught over the alcohol limit face automatic licence revocation, potential imprisonment, and unlimited fines, while the endorsement remains on a driving licence for 11 years.
Another shocking revelation from the study is that fatalities linked to drink-driving have climbed over the past decade, peaking in 2022 at the highest level in 13 years – with the RAC saying this trend ‘raises alarms’ about the effectiveness of current road safety measures.
RAC road safety spokesperson Rod Dennis called it ‘completely unacceptable’.
“These disturbing figures show the twin evils of driving under the influence of drink and drugs are behind a frightening number of lives lost on the UK’s roads every year,” he commented.
A third of Brits want police to immediately ban drink drivers at the roadside / Credit – Vladimir Proskurovskiy (via Unsplash)
“A new approach to tackling these repugnant crimes is desperately needed. We hope this will be a key part of the Government’s forthcoming road safety strategy, [as] we’ve consistently been calling for a change in approach when it comes to reducing alcohol-related road deaths, as it’s clear the status quo isn’t working.”
The RAC has been campaigning for courts being given the powers to mandate the fitting of alcohol interlocks (‘alcolocks’) to offenders’ vehicles to prevent them driving drunk again.
It is also ‘supportive’ of the police being given the powers to immediately disqualify any driver who fails a drink or drugs test at the roadside.
Danny Jones -
24th January 2023 
