Eugene’s Story:

Eugene Cummins is ex-Defence Forces and has always been in pretty good shape. Married with two grown up kids and a new grandson, he started to feel unwell about five years ago and his cardiac care journey began. Now, less than a year after open heart surgery, he’s one of our 100 Miles in a Month challengers.

“It was just over five years ago that things didn’t start to feel right. I always thought I was pretty fit, but I could feel I was struggling a bit more. I always seemed to be out of breath and breaking out into sweats. While I was attending a clinic for another minor complaint I mentioned the symptoms, but they didn’t like what they heard and I was referred to cardiology.

Following a CT Scan of the Aorta and an Echocardiogram, a diagnosis was confirmed – I had an Ascending Aortic Aneurysm and a Bicuspid Aortic valve. I have to admit I was in a bit of shock. The process at that stage is to monitor the size of the aneurysm over a defined period of time. I was being looked after by the excellent Professor Lars Nölke, and following one of my regular reviews I learned that the aneurysm had enlarged and that intervention was required.

Very soon after that, I got a call with a date for the surgery. If I’m honest, I was quite apprehensive but everything seemed to happen so fast that I didn’t dwell on it much. It was a complex surgery involving – aortic aneurysm repair, aortic root repair, aortic valve replacement, Maze procedure and LAA (Left Atrial Appendage) closure. I needed to spend two weeks in ICU (Intensive Care Unit) post op. On day seven, I had two cardiac arrests, which resulted in a permanent pacemaker being fitted.

This was a very worrying and stressful time for my family. There were visiting restrictions in place in the hospital ICU at the time due to Covid. However, Prof Nölke and the ICU staff were excellent at keeping my loved ones informed of my progress and reassuring them that I was responding well. They we’re always available to help in any way. The ICU nurse manager even arranged a family visit the day after my cardiac arrests, which helped both myself and my family enormously.

As you can imagine post-op recovery was initially very slow. After three months I needed to have my pacemaker settings adjusted. Things settled after that and I started to make a steady improvement. However, like many patients who undergo complex cardiac procedures, I struggled with my mental health after the surgery. It’s common to relive the episode and find it difficult to sleep. That’s where cardiac rehab plays such an important role. It allows you to discuss these issues with the rehab team and patients who’ve been through similar experiences. There’s also great advice and insight on diet, lifestyle and medication. These are really vital steps in helping you move forward.

My family and I will be forever grateful for the excellent work of the cardiac team and the tremendous support given by staff at the Mater. That’s why I want to take on this challenge and support the delivery of cardiac care at the hospital.”

Eugene, Drogheda, Co Louth

You can support our 100 Miles challengers by donating through our Just Giving page here:
https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/100milesFeb2023