CARWYN'S TORMENT; Minister's wife hit by heart attack after leukaemia battle.

Byline: TOM BODDEN

COUNTRYSIDE minister Carwyn Jones has cancelled official engagements after his wife Lisa suffered a suspected heart attack.

It is the second serious medical scare to affect the family after Mrs Jones, 37, was successfully treated for leukaemia, three years ago.

The minister had been expected to attend the Denbigh and Flint agricultural show, one of the highlights of the North Wales farming calendar, which starts tomorrow.

Mr Jones, also 37, has now pulled out of a political fact-finding mission to Ghana at the end of the month to be near his wife as she recovers in hospital.

He had been due to visit farmers in the African nation with the charity Oxfam.

It is understood that his wife was taken to hospital after becoming suddenly ill at their home in Bridgend last Thursday night.

She is expected to undergo further tests to establish the cause of her condition.

The couple have two children, Seren, aged two and Ruairi, 22 months.

The minister, Labour AM for Bridgend, had been planning to take his family to the agricultural show before the medical emergency.

But his official diary has now been cleared for the next two to three weeks.

Mrs Jones, who works for BBC Wales in Cardiff, was given the all-clear in 2001 after a six year battle against leukaemia.

She had been diagnosed with the illness in January 1995, not long after the couple's first wedding anniversary.

She was then in hospital for almost 12 months and eventually had to have a bone marrow transplant.

The couple first met while they were studying law at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth, but did not get together until later on in Cardiff.

They first revealed her leukaemia illness in a television documentary made when Mr Jones was the high profile rural affairs minister during the Welsh foot-and-mouth crisis.

``She was in hospital for the best part of a year, but she is now as right as rain, '' he said at the time.

``Lisa can be a bit shy of talking about it, but I feel she is an inspiration to others, '' he said.

The minister confirmed that his wife was OK and that his engagements had been curtailed for the time being, but declined to comment further yesterday.

A spokeswoman for the assembly government said that Mr Jones was on holiday this week but had been due to attend the agricultural show with his family.

``He had been scheduled to travel to Ghana on an official visit organised by Oxfam at the end of the month but he had to pull out. ''

Linda Brooks-Roberts from the Denbigh and Flint show said: ``The visit to the show was unofficial for him and his family. ''

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Countryside minister Carwyn Jones