Recovering now in his family home in Garston, Mr Tong said he is feeling better each day - but the last days of 2019 were intense.
Mr Tong started to feel unwell on December 18 - the same day of the last Wastenet meeting where the controversial recycling tender process ended after conflicts between Invercargill, Southland and Gore District Council.
"I was feeling very tired and thought it was the end-of-the-year blues. I spent an hour in bed but started to feel very sick, vomiting and having diarrhoea."
In the next days, he got a bit better - but still felt very tired.
"I thought it was because I was not eating much."
On December 27, before he headed off on holiday, he decided to check with his GP.
"He did an electrocardiogram and from there, I was transferred by helicopter to Dunedin Hospital."
Mr Tong underwent surgery, had five stents inserted in his heart and spent five nights at the hospital.
Now, he wants to use his experience to encourage people to seek medical advice if they felt unwell.
"It was a pretty surreal moment and everything happened very fast. They can't understand why I never had any pain - but I’m glad and thankful that I had really good people taking care of me.
"The main message is don’t think it will [blow] over - if you are feeling sick, go to the GP."
While he was resting at home for now, Mr Tong said he hoped to come back completely recovered to work next Monday.
