WHEN James Duggan began to feel unwell, little did he think he would spend three days in Intensive Care in Letterkenny University Hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In August of last year, the 73-year-old started experiencing agonising pain which prevented him from sleeping.

Unbeknown to himself, James had contracted a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) which, he unwittingly left unattended for a month.

Neither recognising the symptoms or knowing the gravity of an unattended UTI, James gradually began to feel the excruciating pain associated with an UTI during the all-too-frequent rushes to the bathroom throughout the day and night. After becoming severely sleep deprived he presented at his local clinic in Falcarragh, where his astute doctor immediately called an ambulance to take him post haste to Letterkenny University Hospital’s emergency department.

Arriving at LUH at 4pm, James was quickly diagnosed with sepsis, which was spreading to other organs.

Speaking to the Donegal News, James paid tribute to the medical staff at LUH for their diligence and care.

“I had a brilliant, thoughtful, careful and concerned regime of emergency procedures carried out by a wonderful team of nurses, doctors and general attendants.”

Just three hours later, James was safely upstairs fully rigged intravenously to antibiotics along with all other essential fluids and comfortably tucked in to one of the only five ICU beds in all of the County.

“Call it luck or guardian-angelship, I was very well taken care of,” said James.

“I received amazing care from the nursing staff and doctors in the ICU and after three days was transferred to another ward for further close observation for the next four days.”

After James was discharged, he suffered a relapse with the UTI recurring three times necessitating further antibiotic treatments.

“I’ve been recovering week for over a month now and working assiduously to keep it that way.”

Born in Dublin, James spent the majority of his life living in Canada, having emigrated on June 16, 1968 when he was 20. Coincidentally, he returned to live in Ireland exactly fifty years to the day on June 16, 2018, settling in Ballyness.

“When I decided to return home from Canada I googled the most isolated places in Ireland. Tory island came up first on the list. I had never heard of the Gaeltacht town of Falcarragh, but it caught my interest. I made a mental note to go there.

“After landing in Dublin I was driven to Sligo by a friend and spent three weeks there and another week on Biggle Island off of Mayo coast. I then boarded a bus to Falcarragh and with my two suitcases, a tent and a few boxes camped down at the Pier in Balllyness Bay for 10 days till I found a place to live in town. It was a magical time for me.”

While abroad, James spent six months in Australia, several stays in the States, lived for a year in the South of France and as well explored the vastness of Canada itself.

Just before leaving Canada in 2018, the retired fine arts musician took the yoga programme Inner Engineering by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev which has been in existence for more than 30 years. It has its foundations in Tamil Nadu in the south of India.

“When I took the Inner Engineering program I was 70 years old and had been avoiding yoga as a spiritual practice my whole life,” laughed James.

“I did the 30 hour intensive course in Vancouver and have been practising inner engineering daily since. For me, it’s an ongoing transformative experience and a practice I find well worth the effort.”

During a recent CAT scan in Letterkenny, James said he spoke to the nurses there about the benefits of Inner Engineering, particularly in relation to the stress now being experienced by everyone. He wholeheartedly believes it yoga can help alleviate the pressures faced by hospital staff and all front line workers in these challenging times.

“I know the course was being offered free to all Covid-19 frontline workers up to the end of 2020, so I wanted to share with them my positive experience of Inner Engineering. The nurses/technicians tending to me in radiology seemed very interested in it and in the benefits derive from it. So I hope it’s something they will look into and pass on to colleagues around the hospital.”

James said he believes much support is needed for everyone who has to endure the consequences of the pandemic and the forced lockdown. He believes the world is poised for change, and said that before coming home he listened to a Youtube Tedx Talk by renowned Wexford garden and landscape designer and author of The Garden Awakening, Mary Reynolds. “She spoke of Irish people’s personal responsibility to step into their roles as guardians of the earth. ‘Mother earth is worn out’,  she said and she needs us to turn toward nurturing her back to her natural state of wellness.”

As for the youth of Ireland, James said he believes they need focus, skill, balance and inspiration.

“Holistic therapies such as mindfulness and yoga should be rolled out in schools across the country in order to bring young minds to an awareness of how life can be lived more consciously and indeed more conscientiously.”

James said he believes the pandemic and lockdown could be seen as blessing in disguise, and even an opportunity to take a new look at how to begin over again to care for and safeguard the planet, children and future generations.

“We need to take responsibility for our land, our trees, our rivers, our air and our oceans. Everyone is being affected by mindless actions of destruction. We need to work in all areas that will ultimately help our children become more connected to and aware of their environment, and become more conscious of the nature of the world they live in.”