A man diagnosed with sudden death syndrome says he lives a "really full life" following his diagnosis, saying it doesn't get in the way of living his life.
Mark Maxwell was diagnosed with the syndrome - which is a general term used to describe a number of conditions which can cause sudden cardiac arrest - following an episode when he was 18 years old.
He is now a guidance counsellor, and passionate about informing young people about what they can do - as he believes that the system, as it is, is not serving them well.
Mark spoke to The Hard Shoulder about his experience, as well as his approach to life.
He explained: "Sudden death syndrome is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin - it's an umbrella term, so it encompasses quite a few different diseases or issues.
"Mine is a heart-related issues. It was discovered when I was 18: I was travelling in New Zealand, and I had a sudden cardiac arrest with no symptoms prior. I was in good shape at the time, so it was a total surprise.
"While they haven't figured out exactly what went wrong, they're certain enough to put it under that sudden death syndrome umbrella."
He said while he's looking to have that understanding of his condition, he's unlucky to not have a more "granular understanding" of what his issue is.
Mark has a pacemaker and defibrillator in place, while he's learned a few of his own personal parameters around things like exercise "the hard way".
However, he says he now lives a full life - and it "doesn't get in the way", outside of moving out of the likes of contact sport.
He said: "I wanted to play professional sport: there was literally nothing else on Earth I was interested in.
"When that was ruled out, which was very hard at the time, you just got forced to look at a load of different things. I've literally tried nearly every sport under the sun at this stage, trying to either do it competitively or just for the craic.
"It has changed my outlook dramatically. I can't imagine any other way to live any more - it has embellished my life in a lot of different ways."
Mark said he needed to find something to engage with at a deep level, causing him to go down a path of trying a "tonne of different things".
He said it became a case of looking inside himself for the answers, as well as the likes of Eastern philosophy.
He noted: "I'd never have done that had I not had the cardiac arrest to begin with.
"The second major path it sent me down is towards just helping young people. Everyone has career confusion when they're young - I was lucky to have extreme career confusion with the sudden death stuff, wondering if I was even going to live until 30."
In terms of guidance counselling, Mark says he's looking to solve a few problems he sees within the field.
He says he is particularly focused on encouraging more people to improve their relationship with their own self.
He observed: "When [someone] is in a bank job they hate - like I was - or they're in a faraway country alone... whatever it may... it's their relationship with themselves that is going to define whether they come out of that for better or worse.
"I try to really focus on that: really try to get these people to start thinking independently and thinking for themselves, and respecting their own opinions.
"When they are stuck in that corner alone, they have a relationship with themselves that is strong enough to take them out of it."
