I’mluckytobe alive,saystop PSNImanafter heartattack
A SENIOR PSNI officer who has beaten cancer three times is recovering at home after surviving another major health scare.
Chief Inspector Roy Robinson was rushed to the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen after suffering a heart attack at a church service last Sunday.
Having been discharged on Tuesday, he told the Belfast Telegraph he was grateful to still be here.
Mr Robinson (57) said: “I was welcoming people into the church on Sunday when suddenly my jaw felt sore. I had pain in my neck and in my shoulders.
“I bent down to get a drink of water from a tap and when I tried to get back up I felt faint.
“I told my wife, and as we were driving towards the South West Acute Hospital it was then I think I had the heart attack.”
On arrival a man he knew helped him into the accident and emergency department and he was placed on a bed and given morphine to ease the pain. Later, while being transferred to Altnagelvin Hospital by ambulance for surgery, the policeman had another narrow escape.
He explained: “Some guy drove out in front of us and the ambulance had to swerve to get around him.
“I thought: ‘I am going to end up in a hedge on a stretcher’. The nurse on board was thrown down behind the driver’s seat.
“The driver joked that if I had got the car driver’s number I could arrest him later!”
At Altnagelvin Mr Robinson had a stent fitted into one of his cardiac arteries.
“The relief I felt in my body afterwards was unbelievable,” he said.
“It was like having an elephant lifted off my chest.”
The officer will have to have heart bypass surgery in the future.
But for now he says he’s very grateful to be living and breathing.
He added: “The medics say they don’t know how I’m still here. My cholesterol was 8.4 and people I know are now going to have theirs checked just in case.
“God has been very good to me. I have had cancer three times including testicular and lung cancer. I am so fortunate that I am still here.
“I was due to go skiing this weekend, but I’ll not be going now. I was fortunate to be so close to the hospital in Enniskillen because if I had been walking the dog or even skiing in Italy, I never would have made it.”
Mr Robinson says he’s been ordered not to drive for a month, but is determined that he’ll return to work in a few weeks.
He said: “I have a love for all people. Life is too short, so make sure you live it.”