Limerick man at heart shares his story of triumphing over life changing surgery
HE was, in his own words, “going for an MOT” but former Clonlara resident Dave Geoghegan was shocked to find that this particular heart check-up did not go according to the driver's handbook.
Born to two Limerick natives and having lived in the Mid-West for several years, Dave had established himself as a skilled chef, working in renowned kitchens across Limerick.
After settling in east Clare with his wife, Rhonwen and three children, Lana, Roan and Éile, he continued his culinary career and even took up teaching the profession in the College of Further Education and Training Hospitality Campus on Roxboro Road.
However, the pandemic, which left no individual or community untouched across the globe, saw Dave's life change also. Due to the restrictions and strain placed on the health system during that time, the chef had received no tests on his heart for two years.
Along this timeline was when Dave and his family left the Mid-West for somewhere even more remote, and saw their roots spread to Brandon on the Dingle Peninsula.
Soon after, in August 2022, Dave found that a scan to look at his heart and nearby blood vessels, or echocardiogram as it is professionally known, was outsourced from UHL to Bon Secours in Tralee. He deemed this as lucky, since he now only lived 40 minutes from there.
Remarking that on the day of his echo, “immediately” a technician told him “you are going to be seeing the doctor.” “He knew there was something not right with one of my valves,” Dave stated.
With a mix of anxiety and determination, Dave embarked on his daily routine, heading to work at his popular new business venture in a nearby village, while carrying with him the weight of what the daunting tests might bring.
An angiogram was next on the agenda in October 2022, where the Tralee doctor looked for blockages in his blood vessels by inserting a camera through his wrist.
The test revealed a potential issue, and the doctor immediately alerted him, saying, “I already know you are going to be having open-heart surgery.” It turned out that Dave had a fused tricuspid valve, a birth defect that had gone unnoticed, leaving his aortic valve functioning at only 50% capacity. As a result, his heart had to work harder, causing the muscle to enlarge.
With his case now moved to Cork University Hospital in January 2023, Dave revealed that he was “dealing with the wonder of what was actually going to happen.”
“Health-wise you become so much more aware of what's happening inside,” he added.
Meeting his new team of medical professionals in Cork, Dave replayed the meeting in his mind. “I was talking a lot, I was nervous, and Rhonwen was scribbling tips and tricks down furiously.
“The piece that really was the shocker was when the doctor said ‘you definitely won't see 60’ (without procedure), and I was already 54”.
Slowly bringing the seriousness of the operation into “sharp focus”, if he was to continue on without the surgery, his doctor added, “you could have two years left, but you won't have any quality of life.”
Reflecting on the delays caused by the pandemic, Dave felt grateful that he had gone for that check-up in March 2020.
Otherwise, he said, “I'd be trundling along, blindly oblivious considering the only symptom I had was unfitness,” which he believed was an attribute to his hectic entrepreneurship and age. “At my age you just think, maybe that's what happens when you're in your 50s, I'm not 25 anymore,” he said, wryly.
At the time, laughing about the striped pyjamas he had bought for the hospital took everyone's mind off the fact that the surgery was taking place on March 16, a familiar date for the family - Rhonwen's birthday.
From invasive surgery, to ICU, where he was not breathing on his own, he praised the nurses, adding that they deserve “a gold medal everyday,” for their dedication to total strangers.
Now, having recovered as quickly as he had hoped, Dave and his family are looking to put it behind them, and the chef emphasises the importance of being proactive in seeking regular check-ups.
In a message to those who tend to postpone medical procedures, Dave shared the staggering statistic that his condition affects one in 40 people and is sometimes a contributing cause of sudden adult death syndrome, especially prevalent in men.
With four children to love and look after, including his now grown-up daughter Allison, he urged everyone to try and seize a longer, fuller life.
“I'm the fortunate one, armed with the potential to live 10 to 15 times longer than my prognosis pre-op,” he stated. “But I had a solution to my situation. We have all lost close friends, family, colleagues, peers to illnesses too soon or without a way to win.”
Of the importance of getting checked, he said if you don't, “you may not get [life's] extra portion.”