Last Sunday, Cathal Joyce collapsed on the pitch at Cusack Park as he prepared to line out for Athlone GAA club.
Just before he lost consciousness, Joyce complained that he couldn't see, but stated that before the match he felt absolutely fine, and had no ill effects at all.
Although he did black out, some quick thinking and reactions from Joyce's brother James who is the team physio, as well as Dr. Patrick Boland of the opposition side Rosemount and Garda Colm O'Leary, who is trained in CPR, played a decisive role in saving his life.
Joyce was eventually resuscitated using a defibrillator, and was taken to hospital for a number of scans to investigate exactly what caused his collapse, including an MRI and angiogram, which revealed that he would need to undergo surgery.
This weekend, Joyce took to Twitter to give all those who have been asking about his health an update on how he's getting on, and thankfully it seems as though the surgery has been a success.
Operation done and dusted #roadtorecovery #hometime thanks everyone
— cathal joyce (@cathaljoyce) September 19, 2015
Here's hoping that Cathal continues along the road to a speedy recovery.
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