After visiting Mr. Lee's Pearland convenience store one morning, as he had every day for 16 years, Officer Castillo noticed Mr. Lee didn't greet him as normal. As Officer Castillo turned the corner, he saw Mr. Lee laying on the ground bleeding from his head.
"I told him to hang in there as the medic crew arrived," said Officer Castillo.
Shortly after the medic crew arrived, Mr. Lee's pulse returned and they were able to transport him to Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital.
"Not only did he have a lot of blockages, his heart was very, very weak," says Dr. Cesar Nahas, cardiovascular surgeon at Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital. "Our goal of the bypass surgery was to get his heart working again. After a day or two post-surgery, generally we see patients begin to show signs of recovery. For Mr. Lee, it was nothing. We were not feeling very hopeful that things were going to be OK."
After 33 days of being in a coma, his wife, Mrs. Lee, still had faith that her husband would come through.
And she was right.
After Mr. Lee awoke from the coma, it took him several days to realize how serious his complications were. Soon after, his recovery began. And within days of waking up, he was walking. "It was almost as if nothing happened," says Dr. Nahas.
"I think it's a tremendous privilege to be a part of something like this. To be able to do things that are only done in big medical centers, but doing them in this community is something very rewarding," says Dr. Nahas.
Mr. Lee says, "now I wake up and start my day with a blessing every morning. It's like I'm meant to be alive again and meant to see my family."
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