LIKE FALLING OFF A CLIFF..
Prunty recalls years of turmoil after retiring with heart problem
SEAN PRUNTY has opened up on fears his family had for him after his career was cut short by heart problems.
“It was four years of falling down a never ending cliff,” he says of his struggles at the time.
But until a recent chat with his sister, Prunty wasn’t aware what an emotional roller-coaster his nearest and dearest had been on too.
“I used to go out for walks up the woods at 11pm or 12am, not knowing what I was doing or what I was going to do,” he said. “My sister told me there was one night that Mam phoned her and said ‘I just hope to God he comes back because I don’t think he will’.
“When I heard that the other evening, it really hit home how much my parents had to go through and suffer with me.”
Ten years ago, the twotime FAI Cup winner with Longford Town was forced to retire shortly after signing for the then league champions Drogheda United.
Heart irregularities had shown up in his physical exam and on the advice of the FAI’S chief medical officer, Dr Alan Byrne – who Prunty credits with saving his life – he had no choice but to retire aged 27.
Yesterday, Prunty joined comedian Brendan O’carroll to help launch the ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys FAI Heart Care Programme’.
O’carroll and wife Jenny are donating €420,000 over six years to help tackle Sudden Cardiac Death, which claims the lives of 5,000 people in Ireland every year.
Prunty knows his diagnosis was a blessing in disguise but while his story is well known in Irish football circles, the insight into his personal struggles are not.
“Everyone talks about mental health but it was an absolute battle,” he said yesterday.
“My parents didn’t do anything wrong, but I had become so distant to them. I was really lucky that I had the support of family and friends, the FAI and PFAI.”
Prunty recalls the time in 2012 when Bolton player Fabrice Muamba had a cardiac arrest playing in a live TV game against Spurs.
Miraculously, Muamba survived even though his heart stopped for 78 minutes. But Prunty knows worse could have befallen him.
He said: “I arrived home and opened the door to the sitting room and my Mam was bawling crying, tears rolling down her face.
“She gave me a hug that only a mother could do. One of those you will always remember – that loving hug that everything will be alright.”
Of the heart screening initiative that the donations will fund, Prunty said: “Whether it’s one kid, it doesn’t matter, so long as one life has been saved.”