A 69-YEAR-OLD Taunton bodybuilder and reality star has thanked the NHS after doctors brought him back twice when his heart flatlined — and now he's back in the gym.
Andy Snook, a former personal trainer, had to relearn how to walk and talk after spending four and a half months at Musgrove Park Hospital, much of that time in an induced coma with sepsis.
The bodybuilder fell ill in February with what started as a severe tooth infection. The infection spread to other parts of his body and turned septic, including pneumonia, and his chest which "blew up" with an abscess 7cm deep that surgeons removed.
This eventually saw Andy's body suffer multi-organ failure and he was put in an induced coma in Musgrove's ICU as his family surrounded him. He was then moved to Bridgwater Community Hospital for intensive rehabilitation.
He told the Gazette: "I can't thank the NHS enough, they pulled out every single stop for me and said to my brother I was the 'sickest man in the hospital'.
Andy said he's always looked after his body. (Image: Andy Snook)
"I lost three and a half stone of muscle while in the coma, being fed through a tube, which was shocking when I woke up. But hey, so what, I've got my life and I know how to build myself back up.
"If I hadn't had that three and a half stone that I could lose, on my chest, shoulders, arms and that...the doctors said it contributed a lot to saving my life."
Andy is well-admired for imparting his decades of bodybuilding know-how at Taunton's BodyWorld gym, with 150 people signing his get-well card. He spent 12 years as a coach in the United States, including training at Gold's Gym and meeting athletes like Hulk Hogan and Lou Ferrigno, the Incredible Hulk.
He's also recognisable from his appearances on reality shows including Channel 4's Naked Attraction and MTV's Spring Break With Grandad.
Andy, who works out five days a week for two hours a time, believes "the mind is your strongest body part" and is "very spiritual", practising meditation and cold-water therapy daily.
Andy and his grandson in Cancun, Mexico.
Sharing his story, Andy wrote: "Well guys as the great Arnold Schwarzenegger would say I'm back, back in February of 2024 my brother and his wife found me in my mobile home in a coma and covered in vomit [due to Pneumonia] they called 999.
"I was taken to the critical care unit in Musgrove Taunton Somerset, where I developed septic shock multiple organ failure, kidney failure and was on dialysis.
"I was given hours to live, I was being kept alive with a ventilator and a tracheostomy inserted into my throat.
"I was basically in a coma for the next three months. When I came through the tunnel back to consciousness my son, my ex-wife, and my brothers were all there for me holding my hand.
"It was the love of my family, the Holy Spirit, and the belief in myself and of course the doctors, specialists and nurses of the NHS I thank from the bottom of my heart for saving my life.
"I was transferred to the Bridgwater Community Hospital where I was under intense physio to walk and talk again.
"I have been out of hospital now three weeks I'm back at the gym and putting on weight again.
"I lost 3 1/2 stone of muscle during my coma in ICU with muscle acropathy I am so grateful to be back on this planet Earth again what a surreal experience I have been through.
"With the will to live, the grace of God, the love of my family, and the belief in myself, I would like to inspire others that they can go through what I have and get back to where they were before - with a positive mindset, and no fear."
Andy is soon to be back to running Titan Taxis and can be contacted at 07974403877.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here