Deniz Mehmet is confident there will be no lasting effects from his final-day health scare after specialists eased his – and his family’s – fears.
The Dunfermline goalkeeper caused alarm when he slumped to the turf towards the end of the 3-3 draw with Ayr United on May 3.
The former Dundee United and Falkirk number one required nearly nine minutes of treatment on the pitch. He was then attended to by paramedics in an ambulance outside Somerset Park.
Afterwards, he was taken straight to hospital, where he had his heart and bloods checked, and has admitted ‘there were a few things that weren’t right’.
The incident was played out partly on social media as the 31-year-old’s ‘collapse’ was relayed back to worried family members.
However, medics were convinced at the time a virus was to blame and further consultations have helped put the fans’ favourite’s mind at ease.
“I went to the hospital afterwards in Ayr and had blood tests and had an ECG (electrocardiogram) on me to see everything going on,” explained Mehmet.
“At the time, there were a few things that weren’t right. But I saw a specialist afterwards just to make sure things were going well.
“It was a mixture of not feeling right on the night, and taking extra caffeine to try and get me through the game. But obviously it wasn’t working.
‘I started feeling dizzy, losing vision’
“I just remember feeling worse and worse. It wasn’t a great feeling, not really knowing the severity of it at the time.
“I told my family and friends afterwards. And, after the third or fourth time of relaying the story again, it hit me that what happened was quite scary – and for everyone else looking on.
“I started feeling that I was going to be sick all the time. And, as the game went on, I started feeling dizzy, and losing vision as it was getting worse and worse.
“It just got a bit too much at the time and I had to come off.
“I didn’t have family at the game. But it was a scare for them since there is only so much that you can see on the Twitter feed.
“No-one knew really what was going on, so it was a scary moment for them, of course.
“Thankfully, I’m feeling good now and it’s good to be back.”
Mehmet relaxed on holiday during the close-season and even underwent another ECG test on his return for peace of mind.
‘No underlying issues’
With his recovery coinciding with the downtime anyway, the former Manchester United and West Ham trainee did not miss any matches and was back as normal for the start of pre-season training on Friday.
“It just plays on and sits in the back of your mind when you are processing it,” he added.
“But I have felt absolutely fine since. The blood tests have come back fine.
“They have just said that it was viral. So there are no underlying issues there, thank God.”
