THE family of a healthy young Co Armagh man who died suddenly as a result of a rare viral infection have told of their anguish.
Reece Milner (23), who had bought his first home with his girlfriend seven months ago, was found in a confused state in his car in Craigavon by a concerned passer-by last week.
The regular gym-goer who had no history of medical problems then collapsed. The passer-by performed CPR until paramedics arrived.
Reece was taken to the intensive care unit at Craigavon Area Hospital where doctors worked to stabilise his condition, focusing on his heart. Tests later revealed that he was brain dead. Reece, a control room operator for a security firm, died two days after his collapse.
He was surrounded by his family and girlfriend, with whom he had discussed marriage.
A postmortem examination revealed that the former Lismore Comprehensive School student had died as a result of myocardial inflammation of the heart muscles caused by a rare infection.
Speaking to The Irish News, Reece’s girlfriend of six years, Riofach Doran, said she has lost her “soul mate”.
Riofach said Reece had gone to work as normal last Wednesday, returning at lunch time before leaving again to collect a parcel from the post office.
“He was ill for the last three weeks just with a chest infection and vomiting a few times. We just thought he was sick and had the flu,” she said.
“The person who found him said his car was up on a bank and stuck in the mud and he was trying to get out.
“He asked him was he OK and Reece said ‘Where am I?’ even though he had lived in Craigavon his whole life. He didn’t know his name or anything and then the man said he went round to check the car and when he looked back, Reece collapsed.
“I rang Reece. It was a sister from the A&E who answered the phone. She said he was very ill and I would need to get there right away.”
Riofach said hospital tests later revealed that Reece was brain-stem dead. He died on Friday.
“Part of me is gone,” she said.
“He was a really funny, outgoing person who loved making people laugh. He was just loving towards me and my son. He took him on like he was his own. He was so thoughtful of everybody.”
Reece’s older brother Samir described him as someone who was “very healthy” and “in good shape”.
“Nothing runs in the family at all,” he said.
“It’s still not real. It’s like a roller coaster of emotions. It’s like losing part of yourself. We are all still talking to him when we are on our own. It’s hard to explain in words.”
The 33-year-old said his brother would have gone “out of his way to help anybody”.
“He couldn’t be any more kind. He was always there for you,” he said.
Samir revealed that his brother was a big supporter of organ donation and had encouraged family and friends to sign up.
“He wanted to save other people’s lives,” he said.
“He believed taking organs into the ground was such a waste. We actually had already decided we would go ahead and donate his organs. However, they couldn’t be donated because the coroner wanted a postmortem as he was young and wanted a cause of death. We donated his heart for medical research. It might save someone else’s life.
“The family is very thankful to the man who found Reece and tried to save his life and stayed with him. He was devastated by what happened.”
Samir urged anyone feeling unwell to seek medical advice. He said Reece had contacted the GP out-of-hours service in recent weeks and was directed to A&E.
“He didn’t think he was that sick,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter what age. There is no excuse not to go.”
