Dad has two heart attacks and stroke after gym session

A rugby coach "survived the un-survivable" after having two heart attacks and a stroke within days of collapsing following a gym session.

Pontypool RFC team manager Ryan Thomas was rushed to hospital by his wife Victoria after falling ill on 7 November.

Mr Thomas is still at the Grange Hospital in Cwmbran, Torfaen, and unable to walk.

Mrs Thomas said it had been "horrific" but wanted to get her husband home so he could play with their three-year-old son.

Mr Thomas was training with of the rugby team when he became "grey and clammy" and suffered chest pains, before being rushed to hospital by his wife.

"I went to get Ryan a drink of water in the waiting area and when I returned he was slumped in the chair and making a strange noise and was unresponsive, so I screamed for help," she said.

"Medical staff took him straight in and started to work on him."

Mr Thomas had 21 defibrillator shocks to the heart to restore a normal rhythm after his heart stopped for an hour, before being placed in an induced coma.

While Mr Thomas was in intensive care, he had a second heart attack three days later, before a CT scan revealed he had also experienced a serious stroke.

Doctors had warned further treatment was a huge risk that could have led to a catastrophic bleed and Mrs Thomas was told it was unlikely her husband would survive.

"The consultant explained to me there was a huge risk, and it was very unlikely he'd pull through.

"I said, 'are you telling me he's going to die":[]}