'Without your help, and especially Dr Amara Bonner, I would not be here'

On a night when she was given thanks for saving a man’s life,  Dr Amara Bonner has said there is one very important takeaway.

“Trevor Melly’s story highlights the importance of having as many people as possible in every community trained in CPR. It’s an easy skill to learn and one that can be life-saving,”  said Dr Bonner, speaking after a night of thanksgiving in Leitirmacaward on Friday night to mark an event which happened last summer, which thankfully had a good outcome.

July 12 is now a date that won’t ever be forgotten around Leitirmacaward after what happened at the local GAA pitch on that date last summer.

The Na Rossa club were training and one of their former players, Trevor Melly, had joined them for part of the session. However, when he returned to his car, Trevor took a seizure and but for the intervention of his colleagues and especially the arrival of Dr Amara Bonner quickly on the scene, the outcome could have been much different.

On Friday night last in Leitir, a night of thanksgiving took place with local Parish Priest, Fr. Eddie Gallagher, celebrating Mass and afterwards in the local hall, presentations were made to Amara Bonner and to the Na Rossa GAA club by the Melly and Gormley families.

Declan Bonner accepting a presentation on behalf of Na Rossa from Trevor Melly. Also included are members of the club who were there on the night Trevor took ill

Fr Eddie said that Trevor was one of the lucky ones and he said it was good to give thanks. He paid tribute to all who had helped out on the night including Dr Amara Bonner.

Speaking on the night, Trevor Melly said he “would never forget each and every one of those who were there that night. I can’t remember anything about it but I have been told what happened and without your help, and especially Dr Amara Bonner, I would not be here.” Dr Bonner was at home at the time, just a couple of hundred yards away from the Na Rossa pitch.

Na Rossa club chairman, Declan Bonner, also spoke and thanked everyone who helped on the night, the doctors, ambulance and helicopter crews.

A big number of people who were there at the Na Rossa grounds on the night were present again on Friday night.
Speaking after the event, Dr Amara Bonner, daughter of Declan, recalled the events of that night.

“I just remember daddy calling me and then driving up to the house and asking me to come straight over to the pitch with him. I knew when I arrived then that it was very, very serious what was going on. And as daddy said tonight, it was just really, really lucky the way everything fell into place.

“There was a full group of boys there ready to help and everybody kicked into action straight away. It just couldn’t have happened really in a better place. We just sort of did everything that we needed to do until the ambulance got there. We weren’t really thinking about anything else until we got to that point.”

The Leitirmacaward community is closely knit and Amara Bonner would have known Trevor Melly and the Melly family very well growing up with both families heavily involved in the local GAA club.

“Yeah, it’s totally different because you know the person that was involved. Having the personal aspect makes it more difficult, I suppose. I’m just so delighted that it all ended well. It’s not often that you get such a good outcome. We were just really lucky that we did.”

The availability of Dr Amara Bonner so close to the event was a major factor in the good outcome. There were plenty of personnel there, but they might not have known exactly what to do.

“That could be the case, but they were so, so willing to help, especially Daniel Martin Melly, Ryan Hennessy, Johnny Bonner and John Paul McCready, they were the four that were working all the time and they were just brilliant. Without them, we wouldn’t have had the good outcome either. They were excellent, and everybody else like the people calling the ambulance. We needed everybody,” said Amara.

“I think the most important point from the event is that Trevor’s story highlights the importance of having as many people as possible in every community trained in CPR. It’s an easy skill to learn and one that can be life-saving,” she said.

Thankfully Trevor Melly has made a full recovery and Declan Bonner hinted that he would be starting training soon and would be expecting him to be there. Amara Bonner was working in Letterkenny at that time but has since moved back closer to home, admitting to being a home bird.

“I’m working in Dungloe now, I’m back closer to home. I was in Letterkenny and the following week after this incident, I moved to Stranorlar. I’m doing the GP training scheme in Donegal. I started in Dungloe three weeks ago and I’m having a great time there.”

Following in her footsteps, her younger sister, Dr Arianna, is now back in Donegal as well. “She has just moved back to Donegal as well. She has just moved to the GP practice in Stranorlar that I just left.”