It was around 11am and I had just finished a financial review meeting with a client. I was having a coffee at my desk, when I got a pain across my chest and up my right arm. I thought it was possibly severe heartburn and the pain would soon pass. Unfortunately, an hour later I was not feeling any better and decided to go home.
At home, I told my wife about the pain and she phoned my GP. She explained my condition to the GP and was advised to bring me directly to the County Hospital in Ennis. When I got to the hospital I was in severe pain but was seen to immediately and given medication that eased the pain. I was later transferred to the Intensive Care Unit. After a week in ICU, I was sent for an angiogram to Limerick University Hospital. The cardiologist confirmed I had 4 blockages in my arteries – 100%, 90% and two at 80%. A week later I had quadruple heart bypass surgery in the Mater Private in Dublin. I was just 41 at the time, married with three young children.
In my years as a financial advisor, I have met people who believe that life assurance cover, specified illness cover and income protection is a waste of money because they think they will never need it. My advice is that you are never too young to get life assurance because you never know what will happen. For a relatively small cost, you can make sure you take care of your family, so if something does happen, they won’t struggle financially. From my own personal experience, my income protection policy provided me with an income whilst I was off work and helped pay the bills and mortgage. Illness does not come cheap!