‘My time was technically up’: San Antonio man survives strep throat infection that spread to heart
A San Antonio man has a new lease on life after surviving a strep throat infection that spread to his heart and caused several organs to fail.
“Take every day and enjoy the moments. It sounds cliché, but it’s absolutely true,” said Gary Thompson. “My time was technically up. To get a second chance is incredible. I no longer think about tomorrow, I live in the now.”
Thompson, 33, fainted in his bathroom in May after weeks of battling what he thought was bronchitis, according to Methodist Hospital officials. A COVID-19 test had come back negative.
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His wife, Pamela, heard him collapse and called an ambulance while she tried to wake him up. He recovered by the time EMS arrived, but Pamela knew he needed medical help.
At Southwest General Hospital, Thompson’s oxygen levels were low. He was placed on intubation and mechanical ventilation. Doctors found that an infection was preventing his heart valve from closing properly, causing blood to flow backwards. He was experiencing liver and kidney failure.
“The doctors were telling me to say goodbye and that Gary wasn’t going to make it through the night,” Pamela recalled.
Pamela was called to the hospital the next morning because her husband had coded, but the staff stabilized him. Thompson was transported to Methodist Hospital with a 30 percent chance at surviving surgery.
Surgeons performed a seven-hour operation to reconstruct his heart, then placed him on an ECMO and balloon pump to support the organ. He responded well to the surgeries and was taken off the ECMO after four days.
Doctors determined after several weeks of recovery that Thompson had a strep throat infection that spread to his heart, known as endocarditis. Antibiotics prescribed for his cough had disguised his condition.
“All I could think about was my wife and kids and getting home,” Thompson said. “It got me through. I did not want this to be the end. I kept thinking to myself, this can’t be the end, I have to get out of here.”
