‘ARMY MEDICAL WAS LIFE-SAVER’
ALEX MARTIN was always planning to join the army. From a young age it was his ambition to sign up, as his father had before him. He just had to pass the routine medical examination of course, but that wasn’t expected to be a problem.
He was a fit and healthy 23-yearold, or so he thought.
But Alex, 27, who now lives in Abergavenny, was told he had congenital heart disease.
It was just before his 24th birthday and he was devastated.
He was diagnosed with a bicuspid aortic valve, something he was born with, and the discovery meant he couldn’t join the army as he had always planned to.
Alex said: “It was pretty heartbreaking. I had absolutely no idea that I had this condition, nor did my parents or doctors.
“But it was a good thing they found it, or I probably wouldn’t be here now.”
Thanks to progress in science, surgeons were able to replace his heart valve, giving Alex a future with his partner, Hollie.
He said: “Through the diagnosis and surgery my girlfriend Hollie has been my rock.
“We’ve been together since we were 18 and our relationship has never been stronger.”
The couple met in 2014 and Hollie said she could never have imagined anything like this happening.
She said: “It has been a very weird couple of years, with no help of Covid.
“When we first met in 2014, we would never have imagined that at 23/24 we would be dealing with such a potentially life-threatening situation.
“The harsh reality of it all is, we have both had to grow up pretty quickly, and deal with a situation most people may not even deal with in a lifetime.
“From diagnosis to surgery was a very nervous time for Alex, myself and his family.
“In between the multiple lockdowns it seemed the goal posts for him were getting pushed further and further away, albeit his heart was in a serious condition.
“Alex had multiple surgery dates cancelled as a result of Covid.
“Alex really did take it in his stride and I have complete admiration for him; however, on the other side, I know from my perspective and his family’s it was getting very frustrating, and all we wanted was for him to be fixed, and for us to be on the other side of it all. But all we could do was wait.”
Alex added: “Covid postponed my surgery a couple of times, but I had it in October 2020.
“I didn’t really think about it until I was in the room with the anaesthetist.
“I didn’t want to know. I put all my faith in the surgeons and said, ‘You know what? What will be will be.’”
Hollie added: “Now we are 18 months post surgery and we are still adjusting to life.
“Alex has recovered amazingly with regular routine checks, which have taken some getting used too.
“Alex is able to live life with very few limitations.
“I count my lucky stars that Alex attended the army medical back in 2019, otherwise this story’s ending would be very different.”
Alex spent three days in ICU and a further three days on the ward following his surgery.
He was grateful that his road to recovery was relatively straightforward, but he has had to make some changes to his life.
He said: “Since the surgery, I’ve had to reduce my level of exercise a lot.
“Since I studied it at university, and again at a postgraduate level, this has been really hard for me.
“This year I’ll be watching Hollie’s sister Sophie do the triathlon, but hopefully next year I’ll be doing it with her.”
Sophie Taylor, 20, is taking on the University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD) Swansea Triathlon to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and put a positive spin on what’s been a tough time for her family. The UWTSD student has been training for the triathlon throughout her studies.
“When Sophie approached me about doing a triathlon last year, I was super excited for her.
“Like everything, it was postponed, and here we are less than two weeks away from Sophie attempting her first multi-sport event.
“It was made even more special when she told me that she wanted to do it for me. When I say, ‘me’, I mean on behalf of me for the BHF.
“I thought, ‘what a lovely idea,’ and was more than happy to help in any way possible – be it training advice or letting her use my kit for the big day.
“I could not be prouder of her and cannot wait to see all the hard work pay off on race day.
“Without people like Sophie doing events like this and raising money for the BHF who knows where I would be. So, thank you Sophie – now let’s go and smash race day!”
Sophie, who is originally from Cardiff and is studying for a BA in Product and Furniture Design at the university’s Swansea campus, said she was taking on the challenge to turn a potentially negative situation into a positive one.
“Life so far for my family hasn’t been easy and my mental health has suffered. When we found out about Alex’s condition it was a big strain on my sister and I saw how much it affected her.
“Myself and Hollie are very close and have always been rather active, but this is one of the biggest things I have ever done in my life.
“I can’t say it’s been easy juggling my second year at university and training as I have had to balance my time well; but it’s the smile on my sister’s and Alex’s face that will make this all worth it as this is just the beginning of what I want to do for the British Heart Foundation.
“I think Alex is the main reason I am doing this as he’s always been inspiring for me when it comes to sport as he’s always encouraged me to explore different activities, and since his operation he has been limited to the activities he can do. So this is me doing it for him and showing myself also what I am capable of.
“I just want to give something to those who are battling every day, because if we all did the same, the world would be a different place.”
She added: “Since it was established, the BHF has helped halve the number of people dying from heart and circulatory diseases in the UK each year, but sadly every day hundreds of people still lose their lives to these conditions. It’s only thanks to support from people like us that BHF-funded researchers can help create new treatments. £24 could pay for two hours of research by an early career scientist, but every pound helps so I wanted to take on this challenge to do as much as I can for people living with heart conditions.
“The hardest part was training around my studies. I’ve just finished my second year at university and have been training properly since the start of the year.”
Hollie added: “I could not be prouder of my sister for getting out there and doing something she has never done before.”
You can hear more about Alex’s journey on his podcast at https:// bit.ly/3NEvO9L. To support Sophie visit her Just Giving page at www. j us t g i v i ng . c o m/ f undraisi ng/ sophie-taylor91