A Fife policeman has been given an award for excellence for returning to work just months after receiving a life-saving heart transplant.
Constable Paul Scougall, who lives and works in Dunfermline, has been granted the Police Scotland Unsung Hero award for his swift return to duty.
The 29-year-old first joined the force in 2016, however after less than three years of work his life was turned upside down.
Chest pains
In January 2019, the Fife resident visited Edinburgh Royal Infirmary due to pains in his chest.
He exercised regularly at the time and believed the issues had just been caused by a chest infection – but this was not the case.
Doctors explained the pains were actually down to a chronic heart condition.
Paul said: “They took my heart rate and said: ‘Do you know your heart rate is through the roof?’
“They said to me in the hospital that my heart was double the size it should have been.”
The policeman was told that he would need a heart transplant as a result of his condition, turning his visit for a check-up into a six-month hospital stay.
“It was total carnage.
“I went in for a check-up and didn’t leave hospital for about six months.
“Prior to this, I was working full time, fit as anything.”
‘I don’t know how I coped’
After two days, Paul was moved from Edinburgh to a specialist ward at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Glasgow, where he would stay for the next six months.
He was placed on the donor list, but told it could take two years to find a match.
He added: “Can you imagine yourself as you are just now, then next week you’re in a hospital?
“It’s just crazy. Looking back, I don’t know how I coped.
“I did sit there and wonder if I was even going to get out.
“I didn’t know what my next step in life would be.”
After a month of waiting a suitable donor was found – but the operation fell through at the last minute, leaving Paul devastated.
Luckily, a second match was found after just two months later, and Paul went under the knife on March 29.
After the transplant
Following the operation, the policeman had some issues with his speech and mobility, leading him to fear he had been left paralysed.
He said: “I had a wee bit of a disaster after the transplant.
“My voice was paralysed for about five months and I couldn’t really speak.
“My vocal chords just would not work at the start.
“I couldn’t really walk either, so I was getting intense physiotherapy.
“My body was so weak that I couldn’t turn my head. I couldn’t lift a finger or speak.
“It was really difficult.”
Three months after his transplant, Paul was allowed to return home.
He was still unable to do many things, and doctors told him it could be years before he returned to work.
“I was back to work in mid-December,” Paul said.
“That was my decision. I pushed to get back in, just in an office capacity.
“I just felt like I had more to give.
“The body is an amazing thing. I’m three years past my transplant now and if I didn’t have the scar on my chest you would never know.”
‘I hope that anyone in my situation would do the same’
Paul has now returned to full duties at work, and is living at home with his two dogs.
This week, he won the Unsung Hero category of Police Scotland’s Bravery and Excellence Awards.
His dedication has now been recognised by the top brass, something which he is still modest about.
He said: “I’ve gotten an award for wanting to come back to work, and I don’t think that’s right to be honest with you.
“I would hope that anyone in my situation would do the same thing.
“My line manager, my sergeants, everyone in Fife has been so supportive.
“The Golden Jubilee National Hospital are amazing as well.”
