Irish businessman Richard O'Halloran has opened up on the terrible experience of being separated from his family for three years.
The 46-year-old father of four finally returned home on January 29 after being held in China against his will for three long years.
Mr O'Halloran had been working for a Dublin-based aircraft leasing firm when it became involved in a legal dispute with the Chinese authorities.
They blocked him from leaving the country, meaning he missed precious years as his children grew up and endured a "forced divorce" from his wife.
The Dubliner and his wife Tara discussed the impact the detention in China had on him and the family on RTE's Brendan O'Connor show on Saturday.
He revealed how he began drinking heavily to cope with his situation and how he reached an "extraordinary low point” when he “completely turned in on himself”.
“I turned in on myself, I felt very alone and very isolated," he said.
“That was an extraordinarily low point which I would hope that nobody ever has to go through.
"I didn’t think that the Irish Government were doing anything at the time to help even though they said they were.
“As a coping mechanism I was in the hotel and you start having a few drinks and one thing leads to another and not a good idea, it’s alright until it’s not."
Mrs O'Halloran said that at one stage, she feared her husband might be dead and she had someone from the Irish consulate to check in on him.
She said he became very unwell and was hospitalised, with Mr O'Halloran needing to be resuscitated after his heart stopped.
“Mentally he had just given up and I suppose as a way of protecting himself, he just didn’t want to engage with us anymore," she said.
“We could see him withdrawing and deteriorating, he was just like a different person.
"I tried to talk him through lots of dark times over the phone. He had just given up so at that point I was frantic, and I was ringing whoever it was asking to check on him in his apartment to make sure he was OK."
Mr O'Halloran eventually emerged from the dark period and stopped the excessive drinking thanks to his wife and kids.
"I said this cannot continue, I’ve got to be strong if I’m going to get out of here, I’m going to have to deal with the authorities here and be absolutely rigid," he said.
"It was 'wipe the slate clean, pull yourself together and get on with life'.
“No looking back, no feeling sorry for yourself, I have a duty of care to Tara and the kids, and I better deliver.”
He felt "totally" abandoned by Irish officials and said for the first year, "It felt like radio silence from the consulate".
He believes a turning point came when Ulick McEvaddy became a director of the China International Aviation Leasing Service, the company where he was employed.
He believed the Irish government started actively getting involved once the aviation expert was on board but it would still be a further two years before he made it back to Ireland.
Once he was reunited with his family at Dublin Airport last month, Mr O'Halloran said he was taken aback at how much his children had changed.
"When I left Ben was up to my neck, now he is above 6'2" - the girls have all changed so much too," he said.
His wife added: "The kids keep poking him to make sure he is actually there - it was absolutely the best day of all our lives to see him standing there, the kids being able to hug him, it was amazing."
The family "just wants to do everything he has missed over the past three years", she said, adding that her husband "has just come up with a positivity for life and for our family, he is appreciative of every little thing".
Mr O'Halloran was full of praise for his "beautiful" wife, too, saying he has "fallen in love” with her all over again.
“Tara is so strong-willed, powerful, I can’t describe enough of just how she kept me going,” he said.
“I have fallen in love with Tara all over again, it’s marvellous. It’s just a newfound respect and emotion, I can’t describe it, it’s fantastic.”
