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00:00On any given day, some 800 inpatients, 800 outpatients and over 240 emergencies are cared
00:08for in one of Ireland's busiest hospitals, Cork University Hospital.
00:12It will take just one patient to come in, that just completely stops you and reminds
00:18you that, whoa, this is somebody's worst day of their lives.
00:21On any given day, some 4,000 staff come to work here, a place where life-changing decisions
00:27are made every minute, and every decision counts.
00:31Because I see a lot of sadness, I get great pleasure giving people the good news when I can.
00:39Here I am, hold my hand.
00:41You're having a heart attack.
00:43Filmed using 27 cameras, following patient journeys across the hospital, each story in
00:49this series was captured in just one single day.
00:52Together, they tell a bigger story of any given day.
00:57I'm here for a long haul, not getting rid of me.
01:02I just broke down what is going on.
01:05I'm getting the chance that she didn't get, so I have to grasp it.
01:09A good shift is where you come out the door happy, thinking I made a positive difference
01:17today, and that's really it.
01:21What's the top 50s?
01:28We were playing a match, and we were winning, and it's the last minute, and the team we were
01:35playing just got the mads, and one fella started just throwing water balls into our dugout, and
01:42then a fight broke out, anyway, and I was trying to break it up, and there was probably
01:49four or five of them, and I just got a couple of bangs.
01:52So did they kind of punch you in the face?
01:54Yeah.
01:57How many punches did you get?
01:59I actually don't know.
02:00Quite a few, is it?
02:01I'd say it was a few, yeah.
02:02Did you lose consciousness?
02:03No.
02:06Out of 10, how bad is your pain, Sean, in the chest?
02:10Right.
02:11Ten.
02:12Okay.
02:14Sean Guerns was driven directly to CUH by his family.
02:18He has severe chest pains.
02:21Center chest pain radiating up to the shoulders, had it for the last two hours, looks very clammy
02:27and not well.
02:29Okay, observations.
02:30Well, vitals stable, yeah, just heart rate 91.
02:32And ECG.
02:32Yeah, just in V4, but no other.
02:35When a patient comes in with acute chest pain, there's lots of different things that I'm
02:40looking at.
02:42In case of Sean, my approach was I wanted to know, first of all, what his heart rate is,
02:47his blood pressure is, and how bad his chest pain is.
02:52Sean, do you have any other past history of any sort?
02:56Irregular heartbeat, a heart attack, if you've had in the past?
03:03Yeah.
03:04I've had a few.
03:05A few.
03:06Yeah.
03:06Did you have stents put in?
03:08Three.
03:09Have you had aneurysm?
03:11Aneurysm as well?
03:11In the head, yeah.
03:12Okay.
03:13I'll just put this up, I don't want you to fall.
03:15COPD.
03:16COPD as well.
03:17Are you an inhaler for that?
03:18Yeah.
03:19All right.
03:19Do you smoke?
03:20Yeah.
03:21Do you still smoke?
03:22Okay.
03:23All right.
03:23When a patient with a history of cardiac in the past comes in with a chest pain, the
03:29very first thing that we think is, is it another heart attack?
03:33Was there any change in the blood pressure?
03:36With a heart attack, the other thing that we're thinking of, is it an aortic dissection,
03:41like a tear in the aorta, which can cause massive pain as well.
03:47Sensually radiating to the back, interscapular rigid, started at 4pm.
03:52We've just given him morphine as well, because his pain was 10 out of 10.
03:56I knew there was something not right with him, because he's hanging onto his chest.
03:59We didn't wait for an ambulance, and we went straight up ourselves.
04:03His colour goes, so he looks like as if his colour is grey.
04:08Yeah, I got an awful fright.
04:11It's tough, like, it's tough to watch him like that.
04:18He got his first heart attack, I think he was in his early 40s, and he was still very,
04:23very active.
04:25He got another heart attack, still very active.
04:28It was only when he got the burst brain aneurysm is when his health deteriorated then after that.
04:34He had to learn how to walk again, eat again.
04:37He still tries to be active, but obviously he can't be what he was.
04:45You all right?
04:47My mum's been through a lot as well, you know.
04:49She's the one that's there picking up the pieces at home.
04:52Like, she constantly has the worry.
04:55Like, my mother doesn't smoke at all, so it drives her mad.
04:57So she's like, you're after another heart attack now, will you just come off the fags?
05:04He just finds it very hard, very hard, but he does try.
05:13Can I help out, don't be like a bit of filling up?
05:15No.
05:16It's not.
05:17Some hospital, fine hospital.
05:18What's that?
05:19Fine hospital.
05:19Do you, yeah?
05:20Do you have some work on it, don't you?
05:21Yeah.
05:2260-year-old William Barrett has a brain aneurysm.
05:25He's in CUH for major neurosurgery.
05:29You're on good hands.
05:30In here, mate.
05:32Good morning.
05:33Morning.
05:33My name is Nick.
05:34I'm one of the nurses here.
05:36Now, you are William Barrett.
05:38That's correct.
05:39And you're from Carrick and Shore.
05:41What's your date of birth?
05:4212 to the 9.65.
05:44Perfect.
05:45Now, I'm just going to pop this on your wrist.
05:46Make sure we don't lose you.
05:48All right.
05:48I was in hospital with COVID nearly four years ago.
05:52And I was getting pains in my head, so they'd just done a routine scan.
05:55And they discovered the aneurysm.
05:57They are, like, so if I wasn't in hospital with COVID, I would never have known.
06:01I'm just going to check your temperature.
06:03I couldn't believe it.
06:05And William couldn't believe it.
06:06Then they reassured us, you know, that it was okay.
06:09It wasn't life-threatening at that time.
06:12Tell me, I know they told you'd be in for a few days after this.
06:15Who's collecting when you go home?
06:17Yourself.
06:18Spot on.
06:19And you, Mary, is that right?
06:21Yeah.
06:22Perfect.
06:22Then he was going to get his hip done, and they couldn't do it until they had confirmation
06:27from Cork that everything was okay.
06:29So Cork did an MRI, and the aneurysm was after changing.
06:34Perfect.
06:35Lovely.
06:36Thanks very much.
06:36You're welcome.
06:37We didn't realise how serious it was after becoming until the scan, like.
06:43Look after him for me.
06:45There you are.
06:46There I am.
06:47All right, Mr.
06:48Yeah, yeah.
06:49How are you doing, Doctor?
06:50How are you?
06:50You're all ready for your surgery?
06:52All good.
06:52All good.
06:53A brain aneurysm is essentially a weak point in blood vessels that supplies blood to the brain.
07:00It may cause a very bad stroke.
07:02There'll be a cut here, a bit of hair shave, and afterwards it shouldn't be too sore afterwards.
07:10Yeah.
07:10It's a big surgery though.
07:11What I enjoy most being a neurosurgeon is that you'll be able to, I suppose, diagnose and
07:18treat very complex problems.
07:22A lot of the surgeries that we do, they are very intricate, and the outcomes are very poor.
07:29But on the other hand, if surgery goes well, you can significantly improve people's quality of life.
07:37It's a big surgery anyway.
07:39We'll see how it goes.
07:40Yeah.
07:41Yeah.
07:42We'll do the best anyway.
07:44Oh, that's it.
07:44I have great faith in you.
07:48Sometimes, even if the surgery goes very well, you can predict a reasonable outcome, but not necessarily.
07:57Thanks, I have very faith in you. Thanks so much.
07:59You are very welcome.
08:00Yeah.
08:00Same job.
08:01See you later.
08:02Any operation, there's always a risk.
08:05It's like you're thinking about it.
08:07Like it's disease.
08:09Confident now.
08:10Ah, sure, look.
08:11He knows what he's doing.
08:11He knows what he's doing, yeah.
08:13We hope.
08:14Yeah, he does.
08:15Basically, your life is in another man's hands.
08:21Big job, he says.
08:22She has a big job, yeah.
08:23Is there any brain surgery as well?
08:24Oh, yeah.
08:39Sean Fitzgerald has cancer, a large tumour in his bowel.
08:45I was fine.
08:46Very, very healthy.
08:47Eating healthy.
08:48Out all the time, walking away, no problem.
08:51And next thing, before Christmas, I didn't feel well.
08:55They took biopsies, sent him off, and I wasn't that confident I knew there was something wrong.
09:03I was even embarrassed when I was going in, lying down with no clothes on me, with nurses.
09:09But, but you have no choice.
09:10You have to.
09:12And men, in particular, put it under the carpet.
09:15They'd say, no, no, no, I'll be all right.
09:16But no, no, no.
09:18And you, you have to, you have no choice.
09:24Yeah, just fairly high up.
09:26I won't be able to sleep with Dad.
09:29I met Mark McCourth, and like, when he'd done the examination, and looked at me, and then spoke to me.
09:36He said, Sean, he said, this is the story, he said.
09:40You have a tumour.
09:41No missing.
09:42Very straight, very honest.
09:44I'm trying to avoid your belly button.
09:46Sean's tumour is causing a blockage in his bowel.
09:49Today, Sergeant Morgan McCourth will fit a stoma as an urgent short-term solution.
09:54Perfect.
09:55And just look to the side for me there and give a really good cough.
10:00That cancer's quite big, and it's quite locally advanced.
10:04So he's got a partial blockage in his bowel.
10:07So if everything can get past, everything upstream gets more dilated and distended.
10:13And then you get more pain and your tummy swells up.
10:16And then you come in with a complete blockage.
10:18So you could start vomiting up food.
10:20Or, and if the blockage is bad enough, then you could burst your bowel.
10:24And then you come in with peritonitis, so you can get super sick.
10:27There's charcoal in the...
10:28That cancer has to be shrunk down with x-ray treatment and with chemotherapy.
10:33But before he can get that, we need to relieve what is an imminent blockage.
10:38Correct.
10:39So that's where the storm has gone, so.
10:43I live with my daughter Janine and my son John.
10:46I remember coming in the door and Janine was upstairs.
10:49And I said I had bad news.
10:51And I have a tumour, a cancerous tumour.
10:55So you're talking about there?
10:56We're talking about there.
10:57I was actually getting ready to go to work.
10:59And he said, you know, it's not good, I have a bit of bad news.
11:03And I was like, oh no, not again, just not again.
11:05I can't do this again, you know.
11:07I'll give you the bag as well.
11:09Right.
11:10To take home with you, okay?
11:13And you can show your daughter.
11:14I'll show my daughter, yeah.
11:15I'll show her tis and where else is going.
11:17It's a little bit of deja vu going on at the moment with the appointments and things.
11:22Because you're in the same clinic, the same corridors.
11:26Mum got diagnosed with lung cancer in August of 2020.
11:32And it had spread to the liver.
11:34It was stage four.
11:37We went back up for a scan allows, I remember, in February.
11:40And the news wasn't great.
11:41It was after spreading more.
11:43And from there on then, we just looked after her and cared for her.
11:48Bought her home.
11:49She didn't want to go to the hospital.
11:50Kept her at home until she passed away.
11:53As my wife was there before, four years before, the same place.
11:57Nearly the same seats, same corridors.
12:01And I said to her, I said, look.
12:03At least I could have some treatment that we have to do something for you.
12:06But what could you say?
12:09We were living in hope.
12:10I said if we got five years, it would be great.
12:12Six or seven months.
12:15That was it.
12:18And then?
12:19Too tense, too tense, too tense.
12:21Too tense, darling.
12:22Relax.
12:22Relax.
12:23There we go.
12:24It felt like it.
12:25No?
12:26Yeah.
12:27It's in.
12:29It's in.
12:30Yeah.
12:30There you go.
12:31Good job.
12:32How does that feel?
12:32I'll give you a few more of this.
12:35Make sure there are a lot of peaks.
12:37Sorry?
12:38Make sure that it's the right peaks.
12:40Right place.
12:41Make sure, you know.
12:46Hello, how are you?
12:48I'm doing yourself.
12:49Very good.
12:50Good morning.
12:51Good morning.
12:52In the epilepsy monitoring unit, 20-year-old Zean Toxapaus is coming to the end of a seven-day
12:57observation period.
12:59His epilepsy does not respond to medication.
13:03Today, he will find out if the week has uncovered any possible solution.
13:06All right.
13:07You'll be getting your breakfast as well there.
13:08Okay?
13:09If you think of epilepsy, you go straight to convulsions where you drop on the floor and
13:14hopefully not bite your tongue or anything like that, and you just shake violently.
13:20Whereas, like, I have vocal seizures, so I just do random things.
13:25I black out.
13:26You just think I'm drunk or something.
13:30Epilepsy is essentially a condition or a group of conditions that involve abnormal electrical
13:35activity in the brain.
13:37An epileptic seizure is like an electrical storm within the brain.
13:41It can be every day, or they can be twice in your lifetime, but essentially what happens
13:46is that you have a tendency to experience seizures.
13:49I cannot really have a social life.
13:52I can't travel.
13:53I can't drive.
13:55And it's just the fear of having a seizure in public and someone not knowing what's going
14:01on.
14:02And that's the biggest fear I have regarding the epilepsy.
14:08Zian is filmed constantly and the electrical activity in his brain is monitored throughout.
14:14The team hopes that he will have a seizure in the safety of the unit.
14:18In Zian's case, we admitted him or we brought him into the hospital because we recognised that
14:24he was struggling.
14:24He was having seizures.
14:27When somebody comes in for video EEG monitoring, they are essentially in bed with two cameras
14:33on them.
14:34It's not easy.
14:35They have EEG leads on their scalp head all the time.
14:40So, we gradually reduce their anti-seizure medicines and we sleep-deprived them every
14:45second night.
14:45And we're doing this to try to get the person to actually have a seizure in a safe environment
14:52where there's a nurse on standby 24-7 to help them if they have a strong seizure.
14:58And if we were lucky enough to see an abnormality on a brain scan at the end of the admission,
15:03he might be a candidate for a surgical intervention.
15:07If you don't mind, can you all ping to the chair?
15:10Yes.
15:10It would be easier for us to take off the wires, okay?
15:13A bad day for me would be the fear of me hitting my head or falling or hurting myself.
15:20No one being there to get me to hospital or take care of the wounds or anything.
15:27That's scary to me.
15:29Zian's mother Michelle has been coping with his epileptic seizures since he was five years
15:33old.
15:34Hello.
15:35Hello.
15:36How are you?
15:37Good on yourself.
15:38Good.
15:38How's the week been?
15:39It's been fine.
15:41That first week was the toughest week of my life.
15:44He had seizure upon seizure which we did not know were seizures at the time.
15:49And I noted down every single episode he had and in a span of 12 hours he had 63 episodes.
15:56Now Zian has completed his seven days of stay with us in EMU and the professor Kostlo is going
16:02to come back in after his clinic.
16:04He looked at the EEG recordings and he will tell you what exactly had happened in the last
16:08seven days stay.
16:09And so if you want to go for coffee or tea.
16:11Perfect.
16:12What we're hoping for is that there is a solution, something that can help him that he can be
16:17seizure free.
16:18I need that ease of mind that he's going to be okay on his own.
16:23Yeah.
16:26The solution I'm looking for is an answer to all this.
16:30See if I can get surgery or just better medication for a better lifestyle I can have in the future.
16:37Enjoy your break now, please.
16:40Clarice.
16:41Clarice.
16:42You're free.
16:43For a minute.
16:54It's your first experience with a general anaesthetic today.
16:56First experience.
16:57We'll take you through it, don't worry.
16:59Sean has bowel cancer.
17:04His tumour is causing a blockage which urgently requires surgery.
17:09I know in your brain, when the patient is asleep and all the drapes are on, you know,
17:15part of your brain is, right, this is just, I'm making a stoma.
17:20Because if you start thinking about it, go, Jesus, I have to get this right for Sean,
17:23because if he has a complication, he can't get on his chemotherapy, he can't get his radiotherapy.
17:29So there is a personal element.
17:30But when you're actually doing the surgery, you have to put that to the back of your mind.
17:35Yeah, we'll go there.
17:36Knife there, please.
17:37Off to go, Jim.
17:38Two cockers ready then.
17:44To create a stoma, basically you have to create an aperture opening in the muscle,
17:48the fat and the skin of the abdomen, to bring out a piece of bowel out onto the surface of
17:53the abdomen.
17:54And that piece of bowel, when it's brought out then, is opened up to create a lumen or an opening
17:59to allow the contents to be discharged.
18:03Good. Pat, we'll drop the table a little bit. Is that okay, please?
18:07Yeah.
18:07Yeah.
18:08That's good.
18:10So we'll look at the liver first.
18:12Left lobe looks okay.
18:13Right lobe.
18:15Stomach there, momentum, small bowel.
18:20And the more head down then, please.
18:22Yeah.
18:23Come down there now.
18:25That's the tumour there now, look.
18:29This is actually not a straightforward, bring up a loop.
18:32Come in a bit now.
18:35You have to expect the unexpected.
18:36This was meant to be a straightforward, easy, pick up a bit of bowel and bring it up.
18:41It's just stuck here, isn't it?
18:44In Sean's case, the bit of bowel I wanted to pick up was all stuck down in his pelvis,
18:50so it wouldn't come up.
18:51So then, of course, you have to dissect around and free it up.
18:53And then you have to make sure it's not stuck down to the tumour.
18:56Because if it's stuck down to the tumour, you don't want to peel it off the tumour.
19:01Scissors, please.
19:02No operation is the same.
19:04Although, technically, the steps we do are the same, they're never the same.
19:08And that's why it's the same with outcomes.
19:10We expect the 100% outcome all the time.
19:13You get that outcome maybe 97 times out of 100, but you don't get it 100 out of 100.
19:20Come in a bit now.
19:21Just here.
19:24Very close to it there.
19:30I'm a histopathologist, and that means that my role in the whole scheme of healthcare
19:35is to take tissue samples, which are sent in to us by other doctors.
19:40These aren't just glass slides sitting on the desk.
19:42Every single specimen that we have, a patient is waiting somewhere in the country for a diagnosis.
19:48When you realise it's bad news, for a moment, I think all the times that I've heard bad news given
19:54in my life,
19:56I think to myself about what this patient is going to be going through,
19:59that they have a cancer, and that opens up a whole different discussion
20:03with a whole different set of people as to what exactly now needs to be done
20:07to give the patient the best possible chance of a cure.
20:16Sean's surgery to create a stoma bag is proving trickier than anticipated.
20:21He needs the surgery so that his treatment for bowel cancer can proceed.
20:26So normally that would be maybe a half an hour operation, but in Sean's case it was longer than that
20:30because there was technically, you know, more work to do.
20:42Ah, there we go.
20:44That's going to come up nicely now.
20:47Sean's wife died of cancer just four years ago.
20:50He now lives with his daughter Gillian and his son John.
20:55He's like old school gentleman.
20:57Would do anything for anyone.
20:59Like he'd give you his last fiver if you were stuck.
21:08He has worried about us our whole lives.
21:11And I'm like, it's our turn now to look after you.
21:13But he's still doing that.
21:15He's still trying to shelter us a little bit.
21:17And I'm like, no, you know, this is all about you now.
21:21So I think it's hard when you're in the mindset of being the minder
21:25to become the person who's minded.
21:41An hour ago, Sean Guerns was rushed to the emergency department by his family, who feared he was having a
21:47heart attack.
21:48I'll do left one more.
21:49He has acute chest pain and is being treated in recess.
21:54Treating the person is the most important thing than treating the illness as well.
21:59Because every person, there's anxiety and stress and just listening to them gives them some sense of ease and reassurance
22:08that, okay, I've got help here now.
22:10I'm at the right place.
22:11What I'm going to do is spray this under the tongue.
22:15And this will help with the pain as well that you have in your chest. Is that okay?
22:18So even that sense of ease calms the person so much that, be it the heart rate, be it the
22:25saturation, the respiratory rate, it starts settling down.
22:30Then we treat just that illness.
22:33Sean, we're going for a scan. Okay.
22:41A CT scan is ordered to check Sean's aorta. The team is worried he has a tear. He's still in
22:48considerable pain.
22:51Do you think you've managed that, Sean? We need to push a die through this.
23:06Is it something you can tolerate, Sean, or is it asking too much of you?
23:14In Sean's instance, he was a bit frustrated. Of course, in the back of his mind, he'd be worried. He'd
23:21be like, I'm here again. Is it another heart attack? It's not an easy thing to deal with.
23:31He never kind of talks about, like, when he's sick or, I think he just doesn't want to worry us,
23:38you know? He is a big worry, like.
23:41Breathe in. Hold your breath.
23:47He just loves life, you know? He really does. It'd be hard to see him, like, give up, you know?
23:58Yeah, we'll wait for the full report to come back, to scan.
24:08You okay? Yeah, Grant. You take good care of me.
24:11Nice to see you later.
24:13William has an aneurysm that is close to rupture, which could prove fatal.
24:19Today, he will have brain surgery to clip it.
24:22He's a builder, very hard worker, great father, great husband.
24:27How's that?
24:28Grandma? Snobby the bug. Snobby the bug!
24:31He's always active. Nearly every night, he'd be organising matches and training sessions.
24:37And, you know, he's, he's, it's another part of his life, from work.
24:44And he loves doing it. He loves doing it.
24:47Gets him away from me.
24:48Well, it doesn't actually, because I'm waiting.
24:52The operation is necessary to save his life, but is not without risk itself.
24:58Not all aneurysms needs to be treated.
25:01And in fact, in practice, a lot of aneurysms are safer to be left alone and just be monitored over
25:09time.
25:09Today, now, we're trying to, to try to repair the weak points.
25:14This is the aneurysm.
25:16It's slightly complicated surgery, because anything can happen.
25:21But we're just hoping anyway, to go in and try to, to repair it, so that there is no risk
25:27of bleeding down the line.
25:30These are used to hold the head, very sharp.
25:45I had to get it into my own head, like he was having brain surgery.
25:49So we're all ready to go.
25:52Okay?
25:53This aneurysm, he had to have open brain surgery.
25:56So it made it worse.
25:58Guys, we're making a hole in the brain, in the skull now.
26:05He could have a stroke.
26:07He could be left paralysed.
26:08His speech could be affected.
26:10His memory could be affected.
26:13You know, like, I was praying that everything would go well.
26:19Please God, he will come out.
26:21The Willem that went in.
26:24Look, if he doesn't, once we have him, we'll deal with it.
26:27And hopefully he'll come back out, the way he went in.
26:33We're near it though.
26:36Coming up, one branch, two branch, that's the aneurysm.
26:39Yep.
26:41So we need to dissect there.
26:43The aneurysm, down there.
26:58A clip.
27:00You know the top lights on, off.
27:16It was nerve-wracking all day.
27:18Because as time went on.
27:20You know, errors went on and I said, was there something wrong?
27:25And we were hoping he'd be able for the surgery.
27:37Zian has suffered epileptic seizures since he was five years old.
27:40He has spent a week in CUH having his brain and sleep monitored in the hope
27:44that a recorded seizure will point the way to an effective treatment.
27:49Consultant neurologist, Daniel Costolo, is reviewing the results.
27:53So on the fifth night of Zian's admission to the epilepsy monitor unit, we captured a seizure.
27:59And what we'll see in the video is that the seizure is not a convulsive seizure.
28:03It's a non-convulsive event.
28:04He wakes up, he gets no warning, and he's mildly agitated.
28:13And then the seizure is over.
28:15So in Zian's case, he had an event.
28:18It was short, it was not long, it was not dramatic.
28:20And it is the type of seizure that would be easily missed, but for him being in the monitoring unit.
28:26We were able to clearly see that during the event, there was abnormal activity arising from the front of the
28:33brain on the right-hand side.
28:35So we were able to tell that that was a focal seizure coming from the front part of the right
28:40half of his brain.
28:41And then when we looked at his scans in detail, we were able to see that he has a small
28:49area of brain tissue that did not develop normally from conception.
28:56Hi, Zian.
28:56Hi, Zian.
28:58Hi, Zian.
29:04You had a seizure here.
29:05Did you know that you'd had a seizure, apart from staff telling you?
29:08No, I did not.
29:10Yeah.
29:10Okay.
29:10I think what we learned is that you have focal epilepsy.
29:13It's coming from the right side of your brain.
29:15It's horrible to say, but yes, I'm so glad I had a seizure there.
29:19Like, it's the opposite that you'd normally want, but for the information, I'd gladly do it a hundred times over.
29:28We're on this pathway where I might present your case to the surgical team in Beaumont Hospital where they do
29:33the epilepsy surgery, and I would present your case.
29:37I anticipate that the group will offer him a surgical intervention where that developmental lesion or abnormality will be removed.
29:48What aspects of your life would be improved if your epilepsy was better controlled?
29:52Driving.
29:53First of all, being able to drive transport-wise, being able to go out on my own, be more active,
30:00be more sporty, just finding something that can almost cure it, in a sense, where I can feel safe to
30:09explore the world.
30:10Coming in is a good investment.
30:12You know, we definitely have a more comprehensive understanding of your epilepsy.
30:18So, in Zion's case, we would anticipate that there's a good chance that he'll become seizure-free.
30:23In many ways, he is very fortunate and hopefully will do very well.
30:29Brain surgery is big in any case, in any situation.
30:33It's huge, and it might sound weird, but we are excited for that.
30:38Hopefully, he can lead a normal life after this.
30:41There's a light at the end of a 15-year tunnel, and that's what it boils down to.
30:47There's a little ray of hope.
30:51Great driving song.
30:53That is Eddie Roberts and Driving My Life Away, CUH FM.
30:56This is Hospital Radio.
30:58If you are a time watcher right now, 26 minutes after the hour of 4 o'clock, we're going to
31:02go back to the 40s.
31:03It's called Jump the Line.
31:04It was also used in a movie called Beetlejuice.
31:1360-year-old Martin Forrest has recently had a heart attack.
31:16He requires major cardiac surgery and will today have a quadruple bypass.
31:22I will be coming to collect you for the theatre shortly.
31:24We'll do a few more checks before we go upstairs.
31:28All right?
31:29Excellent.
31:29I woke up in bed.
31:30Then I got this kind of sensation.
31:32I didn't know if it was heartburn.
31:33Is it acid reflux?
31:34We'll see you soon.
31:35Let the games begin.
31:37So I called the doctor, sent me up to CUH.
31:41And between the jigs and the reels, they found out, yeah, you've had a heart attack.
31:45I almost remember saying, God, that was the best heart attack I ever had.
31:49Hello.
31:50Mr. Forrest, how are you?
31:51I'm very good.
31:52Now, many times, people come with a heart attack, and everybody is upset that they came with a heart attack.
31:57But we need to realize sometimes it is a blessing in this case, like in Martin's case.
32:03It's a big operation.
32:04We are planning to do quadruple bypass.
32:06What we plan to do is we'll open the chest.
32:08We'll take an artery from your left forearm, and then we'll take some vein from your legs.
32:14Is that okay?
32:15We felt bypass would give him the best outcome.
32:19We'll shortly bring you to the theater.
32:20Is that okay?
32:21Yes.
32:21I will be doing the main part of the operation.
32:24You've just become my best friend.
32:26Thank you so much.
32:28I was thinking, oh, she's not going home.
32:31No, I'll go for the quadruple there.
32:33Absolutely.
32:34All the very best.
32:35Okay.
32:36Anyone can have a triple?
32:37Yes.
32:38Could do it properly.
32:45Oh, the moment has arrived, has it?
32:47I got into martial arts as a young lad.
32:50You know, I just love seeing my Bruce Lee movies.
32:52And I never saw the fighting.
32:55I saw his philosophy.
32:56I saw there was a spirit in him that said, wow.
32:59And as a result, later on in my life, I got to spend 12 years in Taiwan and Japan, and
33:05I got to experience the Eastern culture, which has become very powerful in my own life.
33:10Check your main bench there.
33:12Martin Forrest and your data.
33:13I learned a long time ago, you can have faith, or you can have fear, and you can't have both.
33:19And I meet people with so much faith, but just living in fear.
33:23That doesn't make sense to me.
33:24If you have faith that you are, then let that be it.
33:29And this is your consent, Martin.
33:32And you're going for coronary and artery bypass grafting.
33:37Martin, my son.
33:39We knew here he was going to have a major operation.
33:46Only yourself would know.
33:49Only yourself would know that feeling.
33:52Only you couldn't explain it.
33:55You could not explain it.
33:58And I'm sure every mother would know that.
34:04I did feel it.
34:06I did feel it because I had a heart attack myself.
34:10And I'd know how helpless you'd feel.
34:14I didn't know whether I was going to die there and then.
34:22Just then you'd say your prayers.
34:33It's not a whole series either.
34:35We have an old laugh every now and again, you know.
34:37Like, I'm from Waterford, then you see.
34:38And they're all Cork people.
34:40And, like, I'd say to them, did you win the All-Ireland?
34:42No, obviously it wasn't done yet.
34:44But I'd say to them, I heard you won it.
34:46No, I knew it was all right.
34:46And then if a fellow came in and he says,
34:49can I borrow it off?
34:51I'd say, is it soccer?
34:51He'd say, no, it's as hard as you can.
34:57William.
35:00He's having a good sleep.
35:02William.
35:03William is in recovery after surgery
35:06to fix a large brain aneurysm.
35:08The critical moment to know if the procedure
35:10was a success or not
35:12is when he wakes up.
35:17Hello.
35:19How are you, love?
35:21And open your eyes for us.
35:23Properly, yeah.
35:25Open again.
35:26Very good.
35:28Yeah.
35:31You had a long day.
35:32All went very well, yeah.
35:35You just need to get better.
35:36I was hoping he'd know us.
35:38And it was when he called me,
35:40he always called me me.
35:41He said, well, me, we got there.
35:42That's what I said.
35:43And I was delighted, absolutely delighted,
35:47because he knew me.
35:48And he knew everything,
35:50which is a huge, huge,
35:52because I was prepared for that.
35:53Not normally he'd be confused.
35:55But he wasn't.
35:56All done and dusted.
35:59Yeah.
36:00It was very emotional, actually.
36:05William could have died.
36:08You know, and
36:10thank God he didn't,
36:11but he could have died
36:12until the surgeon went in.
36:14It was challenging for Mr. Lim as well.
36:17He saved his life.
36:20Okay.
36:21Okay.
36:22All good.
36:24thank you so much.
36:27God bless your hands,
36:28it's right.
36:31Let's thank God he's over for it.
36:36All right?
36:38It's a whole wonderful love.
36:44Oh, thanks.
36:48It's two and a half hours
36:49since Sean Guerns presented to hospital
36:51with severe chest pain.
36:53He's awaiting results of a scan.
36:56He has a history of heart attacks.
36:58What?
36:59What are they doing with the CT scan?
37:00Is that the die?
37:02Yeah.
37:02Oh, that is the die.
37:03I never seen anything.
37:04Yeah, I knew that.
37:05I was thinking that after.
37:06I never show him,
37:08if I was worried about him,
37:09I'd never show him.
37:10I just keep chatting away as if normal.
37:13Because I know he's frightened as well
37:15and he won't say.
37:20Oh, yeah.
37:21Do you want to drink water?
37:22Yeah, it's water.
37:24No, I'm in it there,
37:25no, I've got to ask for a drink of water.
37:29Yeah, is there any chance
37:30I could get water for my dad?
37:32Oh, yeah, we'll get you.
37:32We'll get you.
37:33Just every time he's up there,
37:36they've been so good to him,
37:37and they have saved his life every time.
37:39Because if they weren't there,
37:42he wouldn't be here today, you know?
37:44If they didn't do the work that they do.
37:46Oh.
37:47Hi, sir, how are you?
37:48All good?
37:49All good.
37:50Any one of the nurses here.
37:51Good to meet you.
37:53He always says that they've saved my life.
37:56I better go.
37:57We've heard him.
37:57She's out there all the time.
37:58I love her.
37:59Yeah.
38:00Right, I'll...
38:01Yeah.
38:03Are you there tomorrow, right?
38:04They've saved his life.
38:06How many times now?
38:09Seven, maybe?
38:11See you after.
38:12Bye, Kate.
38:14And we just say he's a cat with nine lives.
38:17Do you know?
38:17We say, they're going to run out.
38:18And he's like, no.
38:24The right is totally blocked, isn't that right?
38:26Yeah.
38:32Martin Forrest is about to undergo a major heart bypass surgery.
38:37First, the team prepares for what lays ahead.
38:41Before we start the operation on Martin,
38:44I would discuss with the team about the roles each individual plays,
38:49which arteries we'll take, which veins we'll take,
38:53and how we are going to use each one of them.
38:57Once that is all mapped out,
38:59everybody knows what they need to do.
39:01So everybody knows their role very well.
39:04The preparation takes as long as the operation sometimes.
39:12So when we say bypass,
39:14we do not go and look for the blockages at all.
39:18We just bypass the whole blockage.
39:21It is exactly like the bypass roads,
39:23bypassing villages or cities.
39:27So basically, we work around it.
39:34We took an artery from inside his chest wall,
39:37called the internal mammary artery.
39:39Then we took some veins from his legs.
39:44Then we take this as the artificial pipes,
39:49but taken from his own body.
39:51And what we do is we suture it to this,
39:56to the artery beyond the blockage.
40:00One, two, three.
40:02It is a job which you are trained to do,
40:06more or less like a pilot, I suppose.
40:08The most important thing is you want to fly well,
40:11you want to land well,
40:13you want to maintain that composure.
40:17In the back of the head,
40:19you are ready for any major complication
40:22that potentially can happen.
40:32Yes, a lot of people presume
40:34that the heart is taken out.
40:36No, we do not take the heart out.
40:38What we do is we cut the heart and lung
40:41out of the circulation.
40:43But the heart and lungs still stay where they are.
40:48Your retina is okay?
40:52You are just sitting there waiting
40:55and hoping and praying
40:59that everything will come right.
41:02You can't explain it.
41:04You can't explain that feeling, really.
41:07You can't.
41:09It's an awful,
41:12an awful feeling.
41:16And he is a good old fellow.
41:19And he makes me laugh.
41:22He do, he's always joking.
41:25He's always laughing.
41:34Everything is God-given.
41:37So I suppose
41:38that's kind of inbuilt in us.
41:42We love them.
41:44Just, just love them.
41:47Stitch, please.
41:49At the back of my mind,
41:51I always think
41:52this is not just one life.
41:55There's a family behind.
41:57There are so many dreams
41:58of different people
42:00attached to this heart.
42:02So it is a great responsibility.
42:06Okay, lungs back on.
42:18I see it's quite full.
42:19Sean Fitzgerald is in recovery
42:20after surgery
42:21to create a stoma.
42:23The stoma bag
42:24will allow his bowel cancer
42:25to be treated more effectively.
42:27I'm just going to have
42:28a little look there, Sean.
42:29Is it okay?
42:29Fine, fine, fine.
42:30Well done.
42:31Lovely.
42:31So that's the bag on.
42:32I see it's quite full.
42:33That's great.
42:34It's working away.
42:35It's working away.
42:35And there's the stoma.
42:36It's spouting out there.
42:38It's like a cocktail sausage
42:39sticking out.
42:40I would definitely say
42:41to anybody
42:43the bowel screen
42:44and any other screenings
42:45that's there for anything
42:46go away and get it done.
42:48Maybe it mightn't have helped me.
42:50Maybe it might.
42:51I don't know.
42:52But prevention is better the cure.
42:54Get it in time
42:55and you might leave
42:56for 10 years after.
42:58My wife was there before
42:59and getting the chance
43:00she didn't get.
43:02And I know that.
43:03So I have to grasp it.
43:06She'd be going along with him
43:07for everything
43:08and she'd be in the middle
43:09of all of it.
43:11She'd be really proud of him.
43:28I'll try one more time
43:29and then I'm going to
43:30call him again.
43:39That was my knee.
43:49The ED team
43:50has been concerned
43:51that Sean Guerns
43:52has an aortic tear.
43:54The results of his scan
43:55are back.
43:57Are you okay?
43:58Yeah?
43:59I don't know what you talked about.
44:00Oh yeah, no, no.
44:02You're okay.
44:03So what happened
44:04we took him to the scan
44:05a CT scan
44:07because he had pain
44:08that related to his back
44:09as well before.
44:10When someone has pain
44:12like that
44:12we have to rule out
44:13any tearing of the aorta
44:16and just to make sure
44:17that's because
44:18that is serious.
44:19Okay?
44:19And the good news
44:20that scan has come back
44:21normal.
44:22We can't see.
44:23Good.
44:24Yeah.
44:25The raorta is good.
44:26Okay?
44:26Good.
44:27Yeah, but we have to know
44:28why you are having
44:29the chest pain.
44:30So you have to come in
44:31to the hospital
44:32for a repeat test
44:35and we'll give you
44:36some medication
44:38aspirin and all that.
44:39Okay?
44:39Okay.
44:40Do you have the pain now?
44:42No.
44:42Okay.
44:43So we'll give you
44:44some tablets
44:44and also I'll speak
44:46to my colleagues
44:46with the cardiology doctors
44:47so they'll come
44:48and have a look
44:49on you as well.
44:51Welcome.
44:52Good one.
45:05Martin is out
45:06of his quadruple
45:07heart bypass surgery.
45:11It's been an anxious
45:12wait for his mother
45:12Betsy and sister Mary.
45:18that he was so
45:19he was well-raised
45:20he was
45:21he was
45:22he was
45:23I don't
45:26I take
45:27thanks to everyone
45:28of you.
45:28There you go
45:29there you go
45:29there you go
45:29there you go
45:29there you go
45:30there you go
45:30hello love
45:31that's himself
45:33wait
45:34I'll just put this
45:34so you can give a hug
45:35me ma'am
45:36hello ma'am
45:38hello my sweetheart
45:41lovely man
45:43I love you so much
45:46well I did go
45:47the only man
45:47said sorry
45:48he said
45:49he sent me back
45:50up
45:50thank god
45:53everything I
45:54prayed for
45:55came true
45:57it really did
46:02well done
46:03I'm proud of you
46:05do you know me
46:05I'm proud of you
46:08that's a worry
46:08I don't have anymore
46:11that's a worry
46:12I don't have anymore
46:15when I think of all
46:16the people
46:17that made that
46:18possible
46:20you know
46:23doctors and nurses
46:24and all those people
46:26do we think
46:27paint them half enough
46:31I don't think we do
46:34like my heart
46:34was already getting
46:36it's horrible
46:36my heart wasn't getting
46:37enough blood at all
46:39half of my heart
46:39wasn't getting enough
46:40blood
46:42I was born a Catholic
46:44a Christian
46:45so I said my little prayer
46:46but then I asked a question
46:48I said
46:48God
46:49whatever God
46:51God
46:51is this it
46:52is this the end of my line
46:53am I gone
46:54are we coming back
46:55from this
46:56I wanted to know
46:57there was a response
46:59that said no
46:59you're coming back
47:01you've got things to do
47:02thank you so much
47:03I'm doing really
47:05really good
47:05you can't leave it
47:08for somebody else
47:09just praying
47:10won't help
47:10for all you know
47:12if there is God
47:13he's sending you
47:14to do the job
47:16to make sure
47:16that the person
47:17survives
47:18so that is a gift
47:19given by God
47:20to you
47:21to save life
47:21not for you
47:22to go and pray
47:23and expect God
47:25to come and save
47:26his life
47:26are we very sore
47:28that's a little bit sore
47:29but it saved my life
47:31so it's a smart price
47:32exactly
47:33really smart price
47:33I tell patients
47:34like anybody
47:35like Martin
47:36or anybody
47:37if they are atheist
47:37so be it
47:38but if they are spiritual
47:39I encourage it
47:40because anything
47:41that helps the mind
47:42and gives them confidence
47:45we should encourage it
47:46be in the ward
47:48for the next
47:493-4 days
47:50what we'll do
47:51is
47:51tomorrow
47:52I'm alive
47:52for example
47:53because this young boy
47:54at some stage
47:55going around
47:55decided
47:56oh yeah
47:56I'm going to become
47:57a heart surgeon
47:57he didn't grow up
47:58at the age of 14
47:59he was going to be a heart surgeon
48:01but somewhere in his journey
48:02he decided
48:02oh yeah now
48:03wow
48:05and it's the same
48:06for every other person there
48:07so I'm
48:08thank you
48:17for the first five weeks
48:18I had just no energy
48:20I couldn't do anything
48:21I didn't even try to do anything
48:23we're coming around now
48:24thankfully
48:25we're out the other side
48:43my good news would be that
48:44it's after shrinking to where they wanted
48:46if I'm back to good health
48:49and maybe the bag is reversed
48:51I'll check
48:52that'll do me
49:39I'll see you next time
49:39I'll see you next time
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