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EXCLUSIVE
Eamonn Holmes opens up to friend and best Editor-in-Chief Siobhan Wykes about his health, his marriage, being a Belfast boy and reflects on how quickly time passes on the merry-go-round of life…
One of Britain’s most enduring news and TV presenters, Eamonn Holmes has had a tough time of it lately. Last November, he ended up in hospital twice - once for an operation on his back, once for a broken shoulder following a horrific fall. If that wasn’t enough, he also lost his beloved mum Josie. Here the Irish charmer opens up about the effect his back problems have had on his health - and his marriage...
Hi, Eamonn. How are you?
Honestly? Every day is a struggle. Normally I don’t like doing nothing. Now? I can’t move far. I can’t go out and walk – Ican do 30 or 40 steps and then I need a chair. Plus, a broken shoulder has caused no end of problems. I couldn’t even put on a T-shirt or socks!
Yes, we’ve seen pictures of you in a wheelchair – but what exactly is wrong?
Nobody seems to know. I had acute pain in my back for about a year because of bulging discs and I started having trouble with the left leg. I was in so much pain, I couldn’t sleep. So last November, I had an op to get rid of the pain - and it has. At least I can sleep now but it resulted in weakness in my left leg in particular.
That caused a fall after the op, didn’t it…?
Yes, at home. I’d walked up 18 steps and my leg gave way. I fell back and smashed my right shoulder and cut my mouth open. All I could do was wait until I hit the stone floor in our hall and see if I was alive. On the funny side, I remember Ruth saying, ‘You are OK, Eamonn. Don’t worry.’ She was trying to reassure me but I could see a huge bone sticking out of my shoulder and I remember saying: ‘Ruth! Does that look like I’m fine?!’
At least there seems to be a lot of people working hard to put you right…
Yes. I spend two hours a day in the gym – it’s not about keeping fit. I’m not trying to lose 2lbs a week. I am literally trying to regain the use of my legs and feet with different trainers, physios, lymphatic drainage for ankle swelling – it costs a fortune. I do understand I am lucky that I can pay for it. My right foot won’t do what I tell it to, so I am literally doing brain exercises to open the nerves between the brain and my foot. Walking can be retaught and that is what I’m working on for now.
What inspires you to keep going?
The positive endorphins! But also in my classes, I see a lot of paraplegics – young kids, eight or nine – and they have
