From Death’s Door to First Steps - Kells man's Incredible Comeback!

Kells man Tony ‘Toto’ Lynch has lived through five years of hell. Kidney failure, open-heart surgery, deadly sepsis and the loss of his leg. But last week, the 60-year-old took the steps he thought were gone forever.

“I had a fitting of a prosthetic leg and I took my first steps,” Tony said, his voice breaking. “It hit me like a train. I won’t lie I just burst into tears. I never thought I’d see this day.”

Back in 2018, Tony was a well-loved bus driver, showing tourists the beauty of Ireland for over three decades. But everything changed after a routine trip to the GP.

“I wasn’t feeling good, I was out of breath and had put on a lot of weight.

Next thing I knew, they were telling me my kidneys had failed. It was like someone pulled the floor from under me.”

Put on dialysis immediately, Tony barely had time to adjust before disaster struck again. Tests revealed four blocked arteries.

“The doctors said it was a miracle I came in when I did, otherwise I could have dropped dead.”

A quadruple bypass followed, and 38 weeks in hospital left him fighting for strength.

By early 2023, Tony was building towards a kidney transplant when an infection in his foot began to spread.

“On Valentine’s Day, three doctors stood at the end of my bed. I’ll never forget it. They said, ‘Anthony, if this sepsis gets to your organs, you won’t survive. The only option is to amputate your leg.’ My whole world stopped.”

On 17th February, surgeons removed his leg below the knee. “The next morning I couldn’t even look down. When I finally did, I just sobbed. I thought my life was over. I came in on two legs, I’d never walk out on them again.”

In the months after the surgery, Tony admits he shut down. “I stopped answering the phone, I wasn’t eating, I didn’t care anymore. I felt like I’d lost myself.”

But with help from the staff at Dublin’s Mater Hospital, he began the long process of learning how to live again – mastering how to shower, transfer in and out of a wheelchair, and navigate a world suddenly full of obstacles.

When he left the Mater, Tony was referred to the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH). “I went for the assessment and they said they’d take me but I’d have to wait four to six months. It felt like a prison sentence. Every day felt like a year.”

Finally, after almost five months, the call came.

“When they told me I was coming in for six to eight weeks, I nearly danced in the wheelchair. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel at last.”

Now, after intense therapy, Tony is taking steps on his prosthetic.

“They told me, ‘You won’t walk the way you walked before, but you will walk in eight to ten weeks.’ For now, I’ll still be in and out of my wheelchair while I build strength.

“They said, for example, I probably can’t walk to the supermarket down the road but once I’m there, I’ll walk around it. And for me, that’s a win.”

Still suspended from the transplant list, Tony must stay infection-free. “You’ve got to be near perfect health to even be considered. One infection could ruin everything.”

Tony praises the NRH as a game-changer.

“It’s more like a hotel with swimming pools, therapy pools, classes, activities, they treat you like a person, not a patient.”

And he will never forget how his hometown rallied for him, raising over €13,000 for vital home adaptations.

“The people of Kells have been unbelievable. Dads Who Cycle, Kells Roadrace – so many gave so much. I can’t thank them enough.”

For over 30 years, Tony’s job as a private tour bus driver was his pride and joy.

“I miss it every single day. I still hope one day I might climb back into that seat.”

But for now, life as a wheelchair user brings daily challenges.

“I get the bus often, but you have to book wheelchair access 24 hours ahead. If I get a last-minute medical appointment, I can’t go.

“One day in Navan, I was refused entry because the driver wasn’t trained to use the ramp. I just sat there, humiliated, waiting for the next bus.”

From kidney failure and open-heart surgery to amputation and now walking again, Tony’s story is one of pure grit.

“Live for today – you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.

I’ve had three major health scares, but I’m still here. That means I’ve already won.”

Each new step on his prosthetic is a victory. And if Tony has his way, it’s only the beginning.