Robbie Horgan has spoken out about the warning signs he missed before a near-fatal sepsis battle that left him hours from death.
Horgan, a former League of Ireland goalkeeper and manager, gave an interview released Thursday on Ireland AM detailing how his wife and pregnant daughter’s insistence saved his life in 2019. The Drogheda native, who played for Shamrock Rovers and later managed Drogheda Town and Drogheda United, was diagnosed with double pneumonia, influenza A and sepsis.
He told the hosts he initially dismissed his symptoms as routine illness. “I just thought I had a flu because it was that time of year and I was prone to getting them quite regularly,” Horgan said. His healthcare provider prescribed antibiotics, cough medicine and inhalers and sent him home.
His wife Suzanne saw things differently. Horgan revealed she “didn’t think I was getting any better, you know, in the next couple of days.” He returned for a chest X-ray due to severe coughing, but while awaiting results, his condition deteriorated dramatically.
The ex-footballer admitted his own stubbornness nearly cost him everything. “I was very stubborn because I’m a man and I thought it was the man flu,” he said. Suzanne “begged” him to return to Accident and Emergency, but he resisted.
A critical turning point came when his daughter, then six months pregnant, also urged him to seek emergency care. Horgan described the physical collapse that followed: “I walked down the stairs afterwards, and it took me 30 minutes to get down each step because of my condition.”
He later learned he had experienced classic sepsis symptoms without recognizing them. “One of the symptoms of sepsis, which I found out later on, is that you just feel like dying. That was the way I felt as the days went by,” Horgan said.
At the hospital, staff immediately recognized the severity of his case. “As soon as they saw me, they realized that there was something serious wrong,” he said. Horgan was rushed to intensive care and placed in an induced coma.
Horgan credited his survival partly to his athletic background, noting his physical conditioning from years as a professional footballer helped him endure the medical crisis.
In a 2023 interview, the father of five offered blunt advice to others based on his experience. “Trust your instincts. If you feel that sick, get help. Don’t think you are taking up the valuable time of doctors and nurses who could be saving the life of someone else. It could be your life they are saving.”
He recalled the severity of his breathing difficulties at that time, stating he “couldn’t string two words together” due to shortness of breath. “My wife Suzanne wanted me to go to the emergency department. But the stubborn mule that I was said there is no way I’m queuing up in ED just to get another bloody x-ray,” he said. “I said I’d keep taking the prescribed medication and I’d be fine.”
Horgan has since become a sepsis ambassador, using his platform to raise awareness about the condition that kills thousands annually. His story highlights how quickly flu-like symptoms can escalate into life-threatening organ dysfunction when infection triggers an extreme bodily response.
Sepsis affects at least 1.7 million American adults each year, according to CDC estimates, with nearly 270,000 deaths annually. Early recognition and rapid treatment are critical to survival, yet symptoms often mimic less serious illnesses.
Horgan continues his advocacy work as a sepsis ambassador, urging people to overcome reluctance about seeking emergency medical care.