Former Wales prop Thomas held his own heart in his hands after life-saving surgery

"

"So it's just an absolute blessing, to be honest, that I'm still here - I feel very, very blessed. "I can't really explain how it feels to have a transplant, to be walking around without my machine and to be alive... it's very special.

" Thomas said the major heart attack he had while playing for Scarlets in 2012 "changed everything". It led to his retirement and an emergency quadruple bypass surgery, which he said he was "very lucky to survive". "My health was really poor," the seven-time capped prop said.

"I couldn't even walk 40 metres without stopping four or five times. So it was a lot to take. " By 2014, he had been fitted with an LVAD , a mechanical device that pumps blood around the body when the heart is too weak to do so.