'My confidence in the gym is returning two years after I woke up in ICU'

I now don’t blame my body. I celebrate it.

Anna O'Donoghue on her return to exercise after a life-changing illness. Picture: Larry Cummins.

Before I woke up in ICU two years ago, I had my yoga mat in my car 24/7. I loved yoga/pilates and began to crave my weekly spin classes. I wasn’t a gym bunny by any means, but I loved my body and, aside from a fondness for a few glasses of wine, I treated it relatively well.

In September 2021, I was admitted to hospital for what I thought was a routine laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal), but complications led to an emergency open surgery.