Tony Finnerty was behind the town goal in James Stephens Park on February 1 last as Mayo started their National League campaign against Derry.
Early in the first half Tony had a sudden massive heart attack. Tony had no pulse.
Standing right in front of him was Fionnuala Lavin, a Consultant Cardiologist at Mayo General. A matter of yards away the Order of Malta were positioned with a defibrillator. Ballina based Dr Fergal Ruane was the doctor on call at the game and was at the scene swiftly.
Within moments the Order of Malta’s defibrillator was in use.
Three blasts of the defibrillator proved crucial. It was, quite simply, the difference between life and death.
“I was very lucky, I know that,” Tony admits. “If the right people and the defibrillator wasn’t there, then who knows … It made all the difference.”
“Tony couldn’t have been in a better location,” adds Dr Fergal Ruane. “If it wasn’t for the defibrillator that was it. The key to it is the shock and the time of the shock. The first two minutes are the most important and Tony was lucky it happened where it did.”
“You don’t think something like this will happen to you. You always think it will happen to someone else, that there’s nothing wrong with you. But then it does happen to you and a lot of it then is luck. I happened to be somewhere where there were medical people and, most importantly, a defibrillator.”
