(REUTERS) – Britain’s former Olympic champion Darren Campbell says he is “relieved to be alive” after suffering a bleed in the brain, the BBC reported on Monday.

Campbell, who won gold in the 4×100 meters relay at the 2004 Olympic Games, said he had a pituitary apoplexy – a bleed into the gland at the base of the brain.

The 44-year-old had a seizure last Tuesday at home and was rushed to hospital.

“I nearly died,” he told the BBC. “You have to give thanks. That is how close it was.”

“When they first told me I was on a ventilator, I didn’t believe them. I’ve got other people filling in blanks. If you can’t breathe by yourself, you are not in a good place. I have to be relieved as I nearly died,” he said.

Campbell remains in hospital while he recovers but said he hopes to be released on Tuesday.