Veteran city councillor Jaimie McEvoy won’t be in council chamber for the foreseeable future after suffering a heart attack.
In a Feb. 5 Facebook post, McEvoy said he’s currently at Royal Columbian Hospital and will be having heart bypass surgery. He’s been in the hospital since early Friday morning and said he will likely be there for another week.
“It was a moderate to severe heart attack of the NSTEMI kind (more like a partial or temporary episode of blockage of the artery, as opposed to a complete blockage),” he wrote. “Thankfully the heart itself is all good, but I have blockages in two of the arteries to the heart, and will be having that heart bypass surgery.”
McEvoy said he had a severe pain in his back early Friday morning, but that’s not unusual for him. That followed on-and-off bouts of serious pain all week.
“But this time was different. The pain made my arm numb, spread from my back down my arm, into my shoulders and neck, and then eventually a band across my chest, like I had been smashed there by a two-by-four,” he said. “What’s more, pain killers were having zero effect whatsoever. It was the pain, its intensity, and lack of response to painkillers that took me to emergency.”
McEvoy said he’s never had any sign of heart trouble, but noted that “heart disease can sneak up on you.”
In his Facebook post, McEvoy said he loves his city, his work in the community, and the people, but he will be away until he’s recovered from both the heart attack and the bypass surgery.
“I have suffered from chronic pain and lots of fatigue for some time. I am hoping at the end of this process to have some renewal, and to recover some of my old self,” he said. “I will be off from all my work as a city councillor and community activity for the next three months.”
McEvoy is the most veteran member of city council, having served been first elected as a councillor in 2008. He was elected to his fifth term in the October 2022 election.
Mayor Patrick Johnstone said he hopes McEvoy recovers quickly.
“He has spent more than a decade pouring his heart into this community,” he said, when contacted by the Record. “I hope the community sends him the same intensity of love and support as he goes through this.”
Johnstone said the City of New Westminster will do what it can to support McEvoy’s return to council duties when he is ready.
“But for now, we need him to recover and rest,” he said in a statement to the Record.
McEvoy said he will be posting updates about his recovery on his Facebook page.
