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Nikki Girvan: 'I didn't think I'd have a heart attack at 45'

Nikki Girvan from Newry had a heart attack when she was 45.

The mother-of-one said that diagnosis, as well as a blood cancer diagnosis, was a "wake up" call for her.

She has turned her life around, losing weight and getting fit.

"At that point, I began thinking of my own mortality and that I could have died," she told BBC News NI.

Read more here.

16 November 2023

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John Deery who has short grey/white hair and wearing a burgundy and navy tracksuit top with a white t-shirt underneath

'They fought so hard to save my life'

Gbenga Oluwasanya

Attack witness 'ran into her death', family say

Northern Ireland

The scene as plumes of smoke rise from the building

Firefighters tackle major blaze in Newry

Northern Ireland

Keyframe #1

'My drip bag was on a coat hanger in the kitchen'

Northern Ireland

A Dubliner whose mother gave birth to her while she was living in a Newry mother and baby home has spoken of her hurt at being excluded from an Irish state compensation scheme.

'I feel I've just been completely abandoned again'

Northern Ireland

A son-in-law of a couple who were stabbed to death by a mentally ill patient has said the inquest into the killings has exposed the "utter chaos" of the NHS and police response.

'Utter chaos' around Cawdery killer's mental health

Northern Ireland

Keyframe #3

Police release CCTV in Mark Lovell murder appeal

Northern Ireland

Newry flood

'It's terrible to find your business destroyed'

Northern Ireland

Elsie

'My mother escaped Nazis through Newry birth'

Northern Ireland

Karen McKevitt

'My hospital bed was blocking a fire door'

Northern Ireland

After a heart attack, John Meikleham spent last Christmas alone in hospital waiting for a transplant.

‘Last Christmas I needed a heart’

Northern Ireland

Supt Norman Haslett

'Gunmen waited to execute defenceless man in Newry'

Northern Ireland

Norman Browm

Memorial unveiled in Newry for TT racing star

Northern Ireland

Hundreds of people hiked up a mountain in County Armagh last weekend to support a Newry woman who is living with motor neurone disease.

'It has given us all such a lift'

Northern Ireland

Woman holding chest

Woman takes 17 heart pills a day to stay alive

Graham Reagan

'So, what does an NHS crisis look like?'

York & North Yorkshire

Crisis cafe

Crisis Cafe's young community serving up support

Northern Ireland

Kevin Threlfall donates £100,000 to New Cross Hospital

Businessman gives £100k to 'phenomenal' hospital

Birmingham & Black Country

Defibrillator is used on a man

How to use a defibrillator and save a life

Keyframe #1

'There's no sentence ever going to bring them back'

Northern Ireland

Emma, with long brown hair and wearing a purple hoody, looks to the side of the camera

How schools can help bereaved pupils with grief

Emma, who lost her brother, says it can be "overwhelming" to deal with grief alongside school work.

Northern Ireland

Tom Hadden sits on a grey sofa. He is wearing a stripey top.

'Rural road crash changed my life'

Tom Hadden was driving a bin lorry down a country road when another truck collided with his vehicle.

Northern Ireland

A woman with straight blonde hair looks to the side of the camera. She is wearing a blue t-shirt and necklace.

Parents of SEN young people call for support

Currently pupils with special educational needs do not receive automatic support to continue in education when they leave school.

Northern Ireland

Memorial stone in Ballyatrick forest to Inga Maria Hauser. Bouquets of flowers have been placed around the stone

Murdered backpacker's family hopeful over inquest

Eighteen-year-old Inga Maria Hauser's body was found in Ballypatrick forest in County Antrim in 1988.

Northern Ireland

A hole in a dark gravel road up close with a road continuing in the background surrounded by fields

'The edges have eroded away'

Potholes and deteriorating rural roads are affecting journeys, said a transport provider.

Northern Ireland

Sebastian is being kissed on the cheek by his mother Amanda. He has short blonde hair and is wearing a blue jacket. Amanda is wearing a black and white headscarf and gold feathered earrings.

'He has nowhere to go and he's still there'

Sebastian's mother said he had limited access to the outside world after spending 10 months in hospital.

Northern Ireland

Noleen Mullan, the mother of Katie Simpson, speaking at a press conference. She is wearing an olive coat over a white top.

Katie Simpson family 'feeling empty' after report

Katie Simpson's mother says those responsible for police failings "are nowhere to be seen".

Northern Ireland

Debbie McCrudden

'I'm glad I didn't let the fear stop me'

Debbie McCrudden was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2014 and was worried about having children.

Northern Ireland

A man with black glasses and a yellow jumper looks at the camera. He has black hair

'We caught my cancer early - that was key'

Two men are raising awareness of the signs of testicular and prostate cancer.

Northern Ireland

A man with a black beard and black hair stands in front of University of Ulster building wearing a black hoody

Belfast reacts to Trump's US election victory

BBC NI asks people in Belfast how they feel about Donald Trump's victory in the US election.

Northern Ireland

Sandra Larmour

‘Drugs was never really a topic of conversation’

Sandra Larmour's daughter Jeni died hours after arriving at Newcastle University to begin her degree.

Northern Ireland

Gillian Kearney speaking at a police press conference. There is a green PSNI banner behind her and four microphones in front. She is in uniform and has blonde hair, which is tied back.

Increased police presence in Derry after attacks

Speaking at a press conference, Ch Supt Kearney says the extra policing will continue over the coming days.

Northern Ireland

Indiana Land sign, with snakes and birds

A trip down memory lane with BBC archives

More than 9,000 new video clips from the 1990s have been added to the BBC Northern Ireland Rewind website.

Northern Ireland

Cahir O'Hagan in football top in stadium

'Medication wasn't able to save my brother'

Cahir O'Hagan was 25 when he died from cystic fibrosis while waiting for a lung transplant.

Northern Ireland

Lara Storey sitting in front of a window

'I never had anyone sit down and take me seriously'

Former Tesco employee Lara Storey wants other women to know they don’t have to accept unwanted behaviour.

Northern Ireland

Melissa Hamilton - a woman with long, blonde hair which is tied back in a ponytail is smiling as she looks slightly off camera.

'To perform ballet back home is a dream come true'

Melissa Hamilton is performing three ballet shows in Belfast's Grand Opera House this weekend.

Northern Ireland

Kwame Daniels in front of the Telegraph building in Belfast. He is wearing thick-rimmed glasses, a green jacket, a red shirt and a ruck sack.

'I'm home': Anti-slavery show explores Belfast diversity

A unique live show commemorating Belfast's opposition to the slave trade has opened in the city centre.

Northern Ireland

Deirdre Shakespeare wearing a white blouse and gold necklace. She has wavy blonde hair and is outside. There are trees and fields behind her.

Mother 'vindicated' by report into autistic son's treatment

Deirdre Shakespeare's son, Harry, was restrained in a chair at his special school without her knowledge.

Northern Ireland

Christine McCleery - she has long blonde hair and a black top on.

'I want to prevent this happening again' - Mum of stillborn baby

Services for pregnant women need to be overhauled in Northern Ireland, a review finds.

Northern Ireland

Woody the dog - he wears a harness and is a red labrador. He has beautiful brown eyes

'One ferret killed 27 puffins' - the dog keeping seabirds safe

Ferrets and rats pose a grave risk to puffins and other seabirds who breed on Rathlin Island every year.

Northern Ireland