Aslan’s Christy Dignam has revealed he appreciates every day after flatlining scare.
The lead singer was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, which there is “no cure” for, on St. Patrick’s Day in 2013.
Speaking exclusively to Goss.ie ahead of the release of Aslan’s charity single ‘THIS IS… For Ukraine’, Christy recalled the terrifying moment he came close to death.
The 62-year-old said: “I was in hospital and I flatlined. When I flatlined, I was in Blanchardstown hospital and I was in the cardiac unit. I was wired up to monitors and the monitors were on in the nurse’s station so they ran in and rang my cardiologist – who lived in Castleknock which was just under five minutes away.”
“I remember the nurse saying: ‘If all those ducks hadn’t have been in line, you’d have been dead, if that had’ve happened when you were home you wouldn’t have survived.'”
“I just appreciate the fact that I’m getting my foot to the floor in the morning,” he admitted.
Christy also revealed his doctor told him the day of his diagnosis that he didn’t think the singer would “make it through the night”.
He told us: “Fortunately, I kind of recovered a little bit. When I was getting out of hospital in late June, the doctor said to me if you’ve anything on your bucket list I’d advise you to do it now ‘cause I think you’ve probably six months tops’. This was nine years ago. So, I just appreciate every day now.”
“When I was diagnosed, the way I lived didn’t matter. The house I lived in didn’t matter, the car I drove didn’t matter, Aslan didn’t really matter, The only thing I wanted to do was spend time with my family, see my grandson’s communion or my granddaughter’s confirmation, little moments.”
The Dublin native continued: “I remember thinking for years I was running around like a headless chicken trying to work out what the meaning of life was, or what life was all about and there it was in front of me all the time.”
“Sometimes you’d be worrying about things in the future. I’d be worrying myself into the ground about it, and then I’d be feeling guilt about something dodgy I might’ve done last year, and because of the cancer I’m just trying to live in the moment and I just think it’s amazing.”
We spoke to Christy ahead of the launch of Aslan’s charity single ‘THIS IS… For Ukraine’, in support of charities’ work to assist those impacted by the unfolding Ukraine crisis.
The 62-year-old said: “Even if [the single] doesn’t raise a penny, just the joy on their faces when we were going through this process, it just took their mind off [the crisis] for five minutes – even just for that, it was worth it.”
“It was a profound experience,” he added.
Aslan are celebrating 40 years together this year, and are performing 40 gigs within the year, which “culminates in the 3Arena in September” to mark the occasion.Â
The band usually play smaller, more intimate gigs, but “wanted to do something different and have a celebration for the people that have supported us over the years.”
However, Christy revealed he would rather play four or five smaller gigs in Vicar Street than play one big gig in the 3Arena.
The singer explained his belief that “music in its purest form” is in an intimate setting, and added: “The further you get from that reality the more insincere it becomes.”
Aslan’s charity single ‘THIS IS… For Ukraine’ will coincide with release of Virgin Media’s documentary ‘This Is For Ukraine’ on June 29 at 9pm on Virgin Media One.Â
