On the evening of 12 January 2023 I was at home in our family house in Dublin, watching television with my wife Jacqui Kelly. At about 9.45 pm I suffered what I now know to have been a hemorrhagic stroke. Jacqui called an ambulance and we were very lucky when one came quite quickly. The two staff on board were excellent and I was taken to St James’s Hospital in Dublin, which is only about ten minutes drive from our house. (I was lucky that the ambulance staff were excellent, and I am now trying to find out their names which I will add here in due course.) I was also lucky to be seen by excellent staff in the accident and emergency department of the hospital, and I am going to add their names here, if and when I find them, in the future. I have also used the word ‘lucky’ several times in this first paragraph, and I could go on doing so many more times in the text that follows, so please don’t be surprised when I use the word again. Also, please don’t be surprised when I tell you about the excellent professionalism of the many, many hospital staff I have met since the evening of the stroke. As I publish this blog on Monday 6 February 2023 this was 25 days ago.

The staff have been excellent and many are from other parts of the world as well as Ireland. I will write more about everyone in the future. Hoping to post more here during this week!