STAYING HEALTHY

Farmers encouraged to get regular health checks

FOUR Aspirin tablets saved the life of Maura Canning’s father.

Maura is from Mullagh and has been the Chairwoman of the IFA’s Farm Family and Social Affairs Committee. Her father, Patrick Dillon, had a heart attack two and a half years ago. It required him to have five stents put in after doctors found he had a 98 per cent blockage of his arteries.

“My father had never been medicated in his life before that. He had no symptoms, only a pain in the top of his shoulder, which is unusual for a heart attack.

“We happened to have Aspirin in the house. He took four Aspirin tablets. You can get Aspirin over the counter. I have some in the car with me now.

“I gave him the four Aspirin to chew on, not to swallow, but to chew. It goes into your system a lot faster when you chew on it. The doctor told me it saved his life. I told the doctor that the Aspirin wasn’t going to kill him, it was only going to thin his blood,” offered Maura, who reports that her father (now 83) is in good health again.

Maura is an advocate for people getting regular health checks done, even if it only involves a visit to your local GP. Her own personal experiences have helped shape her views in this regard.

Maura is involved with the Irish Heart Foundation. She competed in the Farmerette Class at the National Ploughing Championships in 2023.

During the Championships, and ahead of the ‘Her Heart Matters’ webinar on September 29 for World Heart Day at which Maura was a speaker, she spoke about the health scare she had in 2012…

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