Renee Thompson has always been someone others can count on. She leads a major division for BMO Bank across North America, previously served on the Minooka District 201 school board, and currently sits on the Minooka Lions Club board. She is deeply committed to philanthropy and devoted to her family and faith. As a wife and mother of two firefighter-paramedic sons—one with the Morris Fire Protection & Ambulance District and the other with the East Joliet Fire Protection District—her life has long been full, busy, and centered on serving others.
“I’ve always been on the go,” the Minooka resident said. “I love helping people. That’s just what I do.”
When a series of health issues and a questionable stress test led to a “routine” angiogram, Renee approached the situation the same way she approaches everything in life: prepared and ready to move forward.
When the angiogram in the Morris Hospital Cath Lab revealed two blockages, Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Syed Ahmed performed an angioplasty with stent placement to restore blood flow to her heart. Procedures like this are routine at Morris Hospital. While most are scheduled like Renee’s, some are urgent in the case of a heart attack. Yet shortly after Renee’s procedure while she was in recovery, she started complaining of chest pain. “I remember saying, ‘Something’s not right,’” she recalls. “It felt like someone was kneeling on my chest.”
Within moments, her condition changed dramatically and her heart went into a life-threatening arrhythmia. As Renee was being rushed back into the Cath Lab, she went into cardiac arrest not once, but twice as the Cath Lab team worked to save her life. Renee had developed stent re-thrombosis, a very rare and unusual complication that occurs when a blood clot forms suddenly inside a newly placed stent.
In the midst of the moment, Dr. Ahmed spoke directly to Renee, urging her to hold on while the team worked to save her. The entire room moved with urgency, precision, and focus, doing everything they were trained for. Some later shared that they were also praying as they fought to bring her back.
And then Renee’s heart responded. Her pulse came back and her vital signs started improving.
For Renee, that moment felt like something beyond the physical world. “It was like the lights went out,” she said. “Everything went black, and then there was this flash.” She says she saw her mother, who had passed away years earlier. “She reached for me, and I said, ‘I need more time with my boys,’” Renee said.
Renee woke four days later at Morris Hospital. As she slowly began to recover, something unexpected happened. The Cath Lab team who saved her life came to see her every day. “They came up to my room, they checked on me, they brought me cards,” Renee said. “They didn’t have to do that.”
That connection didn’t end when Renee was discharged from the hospital. In the weeks that followed, as she worked to rebuild her strength, the bond remained. “They’ve stayed in touch with me,” she said. “They’ve followed my progress. They care.”
Renee has since returned to Morris Hospital, asking to be brought back to the Cath Lab so she could see the team again. This time, she was standing tall and able to say thank you.
“I needed them to know what they did for me,” she said. “Yes, they saved my life, but they also cared about my spirit. That’s what made the difference and kept me fighting.”
April 28 was a special evening for Renee and her husband as they welcomed the Morris Hospital Cath Lab staff who saved her life to their home for dinner. “Thank you doesn’t feel like enough,” said Renee. “I want to take the time and hear from them what the experience was like. I am so grateful to be able to share a meal with them.”
Seven weeks later, Renee is starting to transition back to work and expects to graduate from Morris Hospital’s Cardiac Rehabilitation program in June.
When reflecting on her experience, Renee shared how grateful she is to have access to exceptional care close to home. “What has stood out to me throughout this journey is that there is something truly special about Morris Hospital that’s hard to put into words,” says Renee. “The exceptional care began with the Cath Lab staff and Dr. Ahmed, and continued through my primary care provider, specialists, cardiac rehab staff, and even the volunteers. The Cath Lab team may have saved my life in those critical moments, but it was the continued compassion from caregivers, staff, and volunteers that gave me the strength to keep fighting and healing.”