Local man's miraculous road to recovery to feature on TV

LOCAL Councillor John Dolan's miraculous road to recovery following a cardiac arrest that left him fighting for his life during the summer will be detailed on RTE's Ear to the Ground series on January 4.

Presenter Darragh McCullough spent half a day with the family on their dairy farm in Kilgarvan, Ballinahown, back in November to hear how John is faring now and about the events of that fateful day.
July 7 started out as just another routine day for the 49-year-old local dairy farmer and Fine Gael public representative. However, as he sat down for breakfast along with his two sons Shane and Cathal, his heart stopped, an incident which he has recently discovered was caused by Sudden Adult Death Syndrome and is genetic on his mother's side.
Luckily, the quick response of his two sons saved his life, as one called the ambulance, the other did CPR until paramedics arrived. They used a defibrillator on him and sprung his heart back into action.
For several weeks however, the prognosis for him was not good as he never regained consciousness and remained in a coma, with doctors unable to tell his family if he ever would wake up, and if he did, whether he would regain normal function.
Amazingly, John did come around unscathed and following rehab, is now on the slow road to recovery.
He told the Westmeath Independent that he decided to do the TV interview to raise awareness of men's health and particularly heart health, and the importance of regular checks.
While his condition showed no signs or could not have been detected beforehand, many others can and he felt it is important to get farmers and men in general thinking and talking about their health.
The agricultural TV show also pays a visit to Ballinasloe Mart, where the Irish Heart Foundation was carrying out free health checks to willing participants around the same time as the interview in Ballinahown.
The Dolan family will now be regularly monitored in the Mater Hospital and John said they will also take part in a research study to find out more about the condition.
"There are not too many who have survived, I'm lucky and I can take part in this (study). Thankfully, there has been no damage to my heart," John Dolan said this week, as he gradually gets back into the swing of work on the farm and his duties as a County Councillor.
The episode of Ear to the Ground is on RTÉ One on Thursday, January 4 at 8.30pm. It will be repeated lunchtime on the following Sunday.