Lowell Sun
By Dennis Shaughnessey
DRACUT — The Christmas lights shone a little brighter this year. Carols sounded sweeter and food was tastier.
For Tom Mackey, a 17-year veteran of the Dracut Fire Department, every facet of life has taken on new meaning since July, when he was felled by a brain aneurysm that nearly claimed his life. A lieutenant in the department, Mackey was manning Station 3 on Lakeview Avenue in the Collinsville section of town on July 9 when a headache came on, the likes of which he had never experienced.
“All of a sudden it was just there,” said the 47-year-old father of four ranging in age from 26 to 14. “It was like I got hit in the head with a hammer.”
Mackey sat down and hoped the excruciating pain would soon pass. It didn’t. Then came the nausea.
“As EMTs, we know that any type of head injury, coupled with nausea, has to be attended to as quickly as possible,” said Mackey, sitting in the living area at the rear of Station 3 recently.
His partner that day, Kevin Bigold, took his blood pressure. It was perilously high. Bigold called 911. The ambulance was there in minutes. A crew from Station 1 on Pleasant Street also responded. Paramedics were called as Mackey’s blood pressure continued to rise.
“I got packaged and they took me to Lowell General Hospital,” he recalled. “Then I started vomiting. I had no idea what was going on with me, but I knew it wasn’t good.”
An immediate CT scan was ordered. The look on the technician’s face when the results were revealed told Mackey it was serious. A doctor told him he had a subarachnoid hemorrhage -- a bleeding in the area between the brain and the thin tissues that cover the brain.
He was transported to Beth Israel Hospital in Boston where he was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. He underwent emergency brain surgery to clamp the bleeding vessel.
“I was very close to death,” said Mackey, the third of Bill and Betty Mackey’s four children.
“We almost lost him,” said Betty Mackey of Tewksbury. “I don’t think many people realize just how bad this was at the time. I had a very hard time with it. But five months later, he had fully recovered. We are thankful to God for answering all our prayers.”
Mackey returned to work at the beginning of December. A week after coming back, he attended the funeral of Jon Davies, the 43-year-old Worcester firefight who was killed on Dec. 8 when a burning building collapsed on him. As the procession went by, Mackey thought of his own mortality.
“The music of the bagpipes goes right through your soul,” Mackey said. “Then the casket goes by. The doctors told me how close I came, so yeah, you kind of think about it. I could have been on a call when (the aneurysm) happened. We’ve all been in burning buildings where you can feel the intense heat and you can’t see a thing. You don’t think about death or anything else when you’re in the middle of it. You have a job to do.”
On Dec. 23, just two days before Christmas, Peabody firefighter James Rice was killed battling a three-alarm blaze.
“He could have been at the Jon Davies funeral two weeks ago,” said Mackey of the 46-year-old Rice.
Mackey’s colleagues have welcomed him back with open arms.
“He’s a very important part of our team,” said Dracut Deputy Fire Chief Rich Patterson. “He’s a good leader. A strong leader. We’re very happy his health has returned as quickly as it did.”
Firefighter Leo McMahon agrees.
“He left a big hole when he was out. We’re obviously very happy to have him back,” said McMahon. “He’s a great guy.”
This is not the first time Mackey has cheated death. In 2002, he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and underwent surgery and radiation treatments to remove the tumors. He was out of work for three months. In both instances, he credits his wife, Monica, with helping restore him to good health.
“She’s a nurse so she knew exactly what to do at all times,” said a beaming Mackey. “She asked the doctors all the right questions. Things I never would have thought of. She kept all my medication straight so I’m taking the right thing at the right time.”
Mackey said he hopes others can learn from his experience.
“I knew enough not to take an aspirin or to take a nap. I would tell anybody who is reading this that if a severe, excruciating headache comes on suddenly, call 911 and get help right away. I did that and it’s probably why I’m still here.
“I’m very fortunate,” he continued. “I get to see the memories that are being made every day. Graduations. The first car, first job. My kids will get married, have children. I want to see it.”
The conversation ends abruptly when Mackey and his partner this day, firefighter Scott McMenamin, get a radio call over the loudspeaker on the wall inside the station. It’s a medical emergency.
Copyright 2011 MediaNews Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved