Man returns to Wilmington Novant Health to thank doctors one year after suffering heart attack
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — One year after T.J. Hordern received lifesaving treatment for a heart attack while on a family vacation in Wilmington, he and his family returned to thank the team at Novant Health Heart & Vascular Institute for helping save his life.
On July 11, 2022, T.J., his wife and three daughters were enjoying all that the North Carolina coast has to offer.
He felt what he described as heartburn. His wife went in search of an antacid, and when she returned, T.J. had collapsed on the floor.
T.J. was transported via AirLink helicopter to Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center where cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Peter Kane, placed T.J on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). ECMO does the work for the heart and lungs, pumping and oxygenating blood to the body while allowing T.J.’s heart to rest and recover.
After 21 days, T.J. was transferred out of the ICU and able to see his three little girls again.
“I’ve had doctors say, ‘You shouldn’t be standing here.’ But I have a wife and three kids – that’s a lot to fight for,” T.J. said.
