In a recent interview, British Olympic
diver Tom Daley revealed that he was secretly rushed to the hospital
after contracting the coronavirus.
Daley was transported by ambulance to a
hospital seven months before he medaled at the Tokyo Summer Olympics.
“[My] lungs felt pressurized, as if
they had sacks of rice around them,” he
told The
Times.
“Every time I stood up, I felt the
room spinning and a blinding white light, as if I was going to faint,
and as if I couldn't get enough oxygen into my body,” he said.
Daley and husband D. Lance Black, a
screenwriter, are raising their 3-year-old son Robbie.
The Times reported that Daley
was kept at the hospital for 10 hours to increase his oxygen levels.
“I understood how quickly things
could potentially go downhill,” Daley said. “I had flashes of
fear about whether I would be put on a ventilator, and my time being
up. I was really terrified.”
Daley also said that he feared what
would happen to Robbie if he and Black contracted the virus.
Daley is promoting his upcoming book,
Coming Up for Air: What I Learned from Sport, Fame and Fatherhood.
The book arrives October 14.