My Dad's asked me to post this as he is presently unable to get to a computer.

On December 19 he suffered a cardiac arrest after quite a long walk through the snow. Initially, two first aiders gave him CPR before the arrival of the paramedics. He was admitted to hospital and resuscitated for forty minutes.

Eventually he was transferred to intensive care, where he remained for three days. For much of this period he was sedated and on life support.

Since then he seems to be making a good recovery. My mother and I visit him every day and he's fairly jolly given what has happened to him. He has written two letters to the The Guardian newspaper and has made friends with his fellow patients.

It's been a pretty grim Christmas but he wanted to let everyone on here know what's been going on and has vowed to get back to posting as soon as possible.

Ciaran