“Like Jadotville, I took it on. The only difference is I couldn’t see my enemy.”
Those are the words of an 82-year-old Tipperary man who has now recovered from the coronavirus.
Tom Gunn, who is originally from Mullinahone, spent two weeks in Mullingar Regional Hospital, where he said he thought he would die after getting the diagnosis.
However, with the help of his own breathing exercises, he slowly started to come out the other side and is now back at home.
Speaking on Tipp Today earlier, he said it was tougher than his experience as a soldier in the Congo:
“It was a worse experience. We were taught how to fight, how to defend, how to live under those conditions, but when you have an unseen enemy gnawing away at you and you can’t really come to grips and you’re depending on the nurses to alleviate the pain and get rid of it… My little way of combating it was to sit up and breathe – breathe it out.
“Attack it at least. Don’t lie down in front of it. It’s the soldier’s way.
“The best method of defence is attack sometimes.”
You can listen back to Tom’s full interview this morning here.
