ONE of Fermanagh’s best known politicians has revealed to the Herald how close he came to death after suffering a heart attack earlier this month.
Former MLA Cllr Thomas O’Reilly is currently recovering after being rushed to Altnagelvin Hospital on the morning of Thursday, March 15.
Speaking to the Herald, Cllr O’Reilly was full of praise for all the staff who helped save his life, including the First Responders in Erne east, and the excellent staff of both Altnagelvin and SWAH.
“I don’t remember dying but I remember waking up to them doing the CPR on me. They got me going again,” he said, explaining how the crew had to stop the ambulance and shock him back to life again.
Cllr O’Reilly said, in his case, the emergency health system had worked perfectly and had saved his life.
A healthy-living man who doesn’t smoke and drinks only a little, Cllr O’Reilly urged people to get pre-emptive health checks.
“It is a really, really important message to get out there,” he said.
“With a bit of luck I can recover out of this, but there is damage done to the heart.
“Once you cross that Rubicon you can never go back.”
For more on this story see this week’s Fermanagh Herald.
To read more.. Subscribe to current edition
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere