Zero to life or death in the blink of an eye Quick response saves a well-known local pastor from “widow maker” heart attack. It was just another busy Friday afternoon in the life of Gary Hamrick, associate pastor at Monument Baptist Church in Deer Park. He was in his office, planning a funeral with members of a grieving family when he felt light muscle spasms in his chest. Within minutes, he was nauseous and sweating. Hamrick mentioned to coworkers that he wasn’t feeling well and was leaving for the day, and he made the short drive home. He walked into the house and took off his shoes, with plans to rest awhile. “And then it hit me like a lightning bolt,” said Hamrick. “Like a ton of bricks had landed on my chest.” What Hamrick was experiencing was a 100% blockage of his left anterior descending artery — a heart attack that is commonly called a “widow maker,” because of the likelihood of fatality. But he is alive today because of the rapid response of the highly trained physicians and staff at two nearby Houston Methodist facilities.
What Hamrick was experiencing was a 100% blockage of his left anterior descending artery — a heart attack that is commonly called a “widow maker,” because of the likelihood of fatality.
First stop: Emergency Care Center Although now he realizes he should have called 911, Hamrick’s first action was to call his wife, Sabrina, a teacher at Deer Park Middle School. She had left school early and was just minutes from the house. Not wanting to upset her, Hamrick just said he wasn’t feeling well and needed to go to the nearby Houston Methodist Emergency Care Center in Deer Park, located at 3701 Center St. “I didn’t realize how serious the situation was,” remembers Sabrina. “I was just driving him nonchalantly and he reached over and turned the flashers on. He said, ‘I need you to drive faster because I think I’m having a heart attack.’”
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Once inside the Emergency Care Center, Hamrick collapsed to his knees. Within seconds, he was placed in a wheelchair and rushed to the back, where he was immediately given an EKG to test his heart function. “Pastor Gary was in a lot of pain and panicking,” remembers Jeliane Galvez, the charge nurse on duty at the Emergency Care Center that afternoon. “He was panicking and telling his wife he loved her. He knew it was serious. Our goal was to move as quickly as possible to prepare him for transport — and prepare the hospital to receive him — but also to help keep him calm by sharing what we were doing and what the next steps would be.” Hamrick was in and out of consciousness as the staff, including Dr. Husam Athamneh and nurse Murray Donnelly, worked on him. “A lot of those initial moments are a blur to me,” said Hamrick. “But one thing I remember
