Comedian Emmanuel Sonubi opens up about suffering heart failure in front of live audience
EXCLUSIVE: Comedian Emmanuel Sonubi has candidly shared the remarkable story of how he suffered heart failure during a live stand-up gig in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk. Chillingly, the star went on to describe how his worst fear had been to "die on stage".
Emmanuel Sonubi is an up-and-coming comedian who has supported the likes of Jason Manford and Jon Richardson over the years, but the story of his most unforgettable gig to date is truly extraordinary. The father-of-two, who was recently nominated for Dave’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer, recalled the moment he suffered heart failure live on stage in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk.
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Emmanuel recently took audiences by storm at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival when he sold out show after show, but things haven’t always been smooth sailing for the comedian.
The former musical theatre star, who is preparing to take his hit show Emancipated on tour, described how he managed to complete a live stand-up gig when he “should have been in a coma”.
The North Londoner recalled the terrifying incident in his interview with Express.co.uk, admitting: “Yeah, that was a weird day.”
Emmanuel explained that things “didn’t feel right” about a week before the infamous show, but medics at the time had told him there was nothing to worry about.
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“I was meant to be flying to Dubai to do this comedy tour,” he remembered. “And I didn’t feel right, so I went to the hospital and they said everything was fine because they didn’t see anything.
“They said the only thing I had was a viral throat infection, and they played down and were like, ‘It’s ok, it will go.’”
However, this didn’t prove to be the case once Emmanuel had landed in Dubai, where he started to feel “worse and worse”.
“I didn't think anything of it because I thought, ‘It’s just an infection, it will go,’” the comedian remembered.
“What I didn't know is that the throat infection had then spread to my chest, my lungs - and it hit my heart on stage! And then my heart just went, ‘No, that's enough. I'm taking a break.’”
Emmanuel experienced what is known as cardiomyopathy, which meant that his heart stopped pumping oxygenated blood around his body.
“On stage, it just felt like I couldn't breathe, like I couldn't get a whole sentence out in one go,” the comedy star explained. “But I think what saved me is I didn't know what was going on.”
Emmanuel suggested that, because he had experienced asthma attacks as a child, he was already “hardwired” to slow his breathing down and keep calm until he could get medical attention.
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Amazingly, the comedian flew home the very next day, thinking that he would be alright if he just “took some tablets”.
“Before I know it, I'm on oxygen.They had an oxygen mask for me the whole way back - I think they were just happy that I didn't die on the plane,” he admitted.
When he got to hospital, Emmanuel was shocked to learn he was “a lot sicker than he thought”, and he was immediately taken into intensive care.
He continued: “What they couldn't understand is how I was able to walk around, because the stats that were being shown… They were like, ‘If I was to look at the stats, I would assume this person's in a coma - you shouldn't be able to sit up right now.’”
Incredibly, the audience at the gig appeared to be none the wiser that anything was wrong, as Emmanuel recalled: “The audience literally didn’t know, no one knew. The show must go on! Luckily enough it was as I was telling my last jokes so all I had to do was walk offstage.”
Emmanuel went on to explain how he was scared to fall asleep in the days following the incident for fear of waking up, describing it as “terrifying”.
Once he did sleep, however, he felt better and went on to praise the “absolutely amazing” NHS staff that “bent over backwards” to make sure he was okay.
Emmanuel concluded by revealing his biggest fear, which very nearly materialised that fateful day.
“The biggest fear I ever had as a comedian was dying on stage - until I nearly died on stage,” he said. “So after that when I came back… It just feels like a privilege every time I walk on stage.”
Emmanuel Sonubi is on tour across the UK with hit show, Emancipated from 31st March to 31st May. Tickets available at www.emmanuelstandup.com.
