Featured Image Credit: SWNS
Topics: Mental Health, London, Health
William Morgan
It wasn't until a 43-year-old dad 'dropped dead' for several minutes that he was able to make the realization that would completely change his outlook on life.
Father-of-two Matthew Allick was rushed to hospital in August 2023, after his feet suddenly started to swell and he experienced shortness of breath. When he arrived, his health deteriorated rapidly and he went into cardiac arrest.
A pulmonary embolism had caused to him collapse, leaving him clinically dead for 10 minutes, with medics desparately using shock paddles and CPR so aggressive that it left him bleeding internally.
Allick would lie in a coma for 10 days after the doctors managed to resuscitate him, but when the model and actor from London woke up, bizarrely, it was like he had woken up from 'a peaceful sleep'.
Advert
Two and a half years later, the dad's life has completely changed for the better, even though everything fell apart in the year after his return from the dead. An experience he has turned into a book.
Sharing his revelation, Allick said:“To put it all down was a bit therapeutic. It was quite easy because it was my story and I lived through it. Sometimes when people hear my story they are shocked and I don’t understand why, but when I saw it all written down I realised I have been through quite a lot.
“I was brought back to life, so there is no challenge that can really deter me. Anything is possible if I can come back from the dead.”
Indeed, the Brit is incredibly lucky to be alive, with scans revealing that he had blood clots the 'size of a cricket ball' in his hearts and lungs, a terrifying diagnosis that would signal the start of a truly awful year.
In the year after his near death experience, Allick went through a relationship ending, losing his job, money worries, and his son's own health scare. But in his memoir Life After Being Clinically Dead, Allick shares how nearly dying kept him going.
But with this new 'anything is possible' outlook, Allick has since got engaged to his best friend, bought a house, and seen his two sons excel. He added: “Sometimes life throws challenges at you, and it is just about how you deal with it.
"You can take the option of sitting down and crying and having a pity party or you can take the road I did. I cried for one or two days and then I thought about how to build myself back up.
“I actually died. It completely changed my outlook on life. Life is too short to worry. I am here for a reason and I have to keep going. The worst thing is that you die and you don’t try.”
Although Allick has managed to turn his life around, he does continue to suffer the consequence of his close shave with death, having to remain on blood thinners for the rest of his life - meaning he has to avoid cooking and playing sports.