In April 2020 popular TV presenter and property expert Martin Roberts, known and loved for his enthusiastic tours around auction buildings in BBC's long-running daytime programme, Homes Under The Hammer, was close to death and he says he is still struggling to come to terms with the traumatic experience.
After feeling unwell, Martin was rushed to the Royal United Hospital in Bath where he was hours from death. Martin was diagnosed with cardiac tamponade, when a protective sack around his heart became inflamed, filled with fluid and stopping his heart from working efficiently.
The sack had to be drained via an emergency operation, producing over a litre of liquid. Generally symptoms of this condition can include breathlessness, low blood pressure and a light-headed feeling and tightness in the chest, but Martin explains on his Instagram account that in his case he was having chest pains and 'generally feeling lousy'.
READ MORE: Homes Under The Hammer's Martin Roberts has bought an old Welsh farmhouse and transformed it
Father of two and husband to Kirsty, Martin's many social media followers were shocked as the dramatic event unfolded online. The severity of the incident included his heart, kidneys and liver beginning to fail.
Martin has now publicly revealed his lasting struggle, both physically and mentally, at The Sun's Who Cares Wins Awards. The awards ceremony acknowledges healthcare professionals around the UK. The special event is now in its fifth year and was broadcast by Channel 4 on Sunday November 27.
At the event Martin told The Sun the evening had left him in tears a number of times, hearing the stories of heroic healthcare professionals.
He said: "I've cried on numerous occasions, because I've been there, done that, so it puts things in a different perspective, and it's really important - these people save lives, like mine, and most of it goes unnoticed.
"So the physical side of almost dying was a really hard thing to deal with but the mental side of it has been much, much harder. The fact that you realise we are finite, you realise you can't take anything for granted.
"It was an average Tuesday, and I was a reasonably healthy person, and everything can stop like that - the wife, the kids, the career, the business... bang, gone.
"And to come to terms with that? I haven't. I still struggle with it. It's like it changes your perception on everything, you try not to sweat the small stuff because you know it's insignificant."
One aspect of life that Martin has been aiming to increase as a way of coming to terms with the experience is his charity work.
Martin has done notably charity work in the past including dashing to the frontline of the Polish border with Ukraine with emergency supplies during the first phase of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Last year he was involved with ITV's Strictly The Real Full Monty to raise awareness of cancer by stripping on stage with fellow celebrities, find out more about that here.
But since his health struggles, Martin says he's aiming to do more. He says: "What I've tried to do is take that in a positive way as I have been given another opportunity, so I'm doing lots more charity work, lots more philanthropic stuff to try and make a difference.
"Because we are literally just here once and we've got to make a difference if we can and that's exactly what all these people (healthcare professionals) do, so they can go home tonight proud."
Martin has a close link to Wales, and not just filming episodes for Homes Under The Hammer. He owns a historic house in the valleys and is involved with the work of the Rhondda Tunnel Society.
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