Going Home: After a Massive Heart Attack, Walt Therrell's Biggest Victory Is Still Ahead
Three years ago, Walt Therrell was headed to Omaha.
The lifelong Ole Miss fan and retired pharmacist piled into a vehicle with his son, Clint, for the 765-mile drive to the College World Series while his wife, Glenda, worked the phones back home in Ellisville, searching for tickets and a place to stay.
When the Rebels were back in Omaha this year, Therrell sported his Ole Miss shirt, but was cheering from a very different place. Instead of an 11-hour drive to Charles Schwab Field, the 71-year-old was focused on a different journey — learning to walk again after surviving a massive heart attack that doctors later described as remarkable.
In March, Therrell suffered a STEMI (ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction) one of the most severe and deadly types of heart attacks. During the next several hours, he would go into cardiac arrest multiple times, be shocked more than 10 times, receive CPR from his daughter for nearly eight minutes, undergo emergency cardiac intervention at Forrest General Hospital and fight for his life as medical teams worked to save him.
Today, he is working through daily rehabilitation with one goal in mind.
"Going home," Therrell said. "But only when I'm ready."
The Morning Everything Changed
Palm Sunday began like any other morning at the Therrell home in Ellisville.
Walt woke up feeling a little under the weather. He had sweated through his T-shirt during the night, but he didn't have a fever. His blood pressure was running low.
Their daughter, Stacy, stopped by with another blood pressure cuff. Her youngest son, 8-year-old Chandler, came with her. Known as Walt's "mini-me," Chandler followed his grandfather almost everywhere.
They rechecked Walt's blood pressure and thought dehydration might be the culprit. He took his morning medications and headed down the hall toward the bathroom with the help of his rollator walker while Chandler sat outside the door.
Moments later, Chandler's voice shattered the quiet morning.
"Gigi! Gigi! Pop fell!"
Within seconds, Stacy was at her father's side.
"He was purple," she recalled.
Walt had collapsed beneath his walker. Stacy immediately rolled him over and began CPR while Glenda called 911.
As a pharmacist, Stacy is required to maintain CPR certification, renewing her training every two years. Until that morning, she had never needed to use it.
"The training works," she said. "It just kicked in."
For the next seven to eight minutes, she performed chest compressions, counting steadily through exhaustion as sweat dripped from her face onto her father. At one point, the 911 dispatcher began counting along with her.
"I told Mother to tell her to be quiet," Stacy said with a laugh. "She was messing me up."
Jones County Deputy Sheriff Lou Lowe arrived and took over CPR. Eleven minutes after Stacy began compressions, emergency medical personnel reached the home.
By then, the race to save Walt's life was fully underway.
Paramedics shocked him three times before loading him into the ambulance. He suffered cardiac arrest again during transport and would code additional times before making his way to Forrest General's Cardiac Cath Lab.
For the family, the terrifying chain of events began with a little boy who happened to be sitting outside a bathroom door.
"If Chandler hadn't heard him fall, things could have been very different," Glenda said. "He's our little hero, too."
The quick actions of Chandler, Stacy, Deputy Lowe and emergency responders had given Walt a chance.
What happened next depended on whether specialized cardiac care could be delivered quickly enough.
When Every Minute Matters
A STEMI, or ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction, is a severe heart attack caused by a complete blockage of a coronary artery. Without rapid treatment, heart muscle begins to die.
After arriving at a local facility, it quickly became apparent that Walt needed a higher level of cardiac care. As his condition continued to deteriorate and he suffered repeated cardiac arrests, arrangements were made to transfer him to Forrest General Hospital, where the STEMI team was already preparing for his arrival.
According to cardiologist, Dr. Adam Harless, MD, FACC, RPVI, the first responders activated the hospital’s pathway set in place to bypass the Emergency Department and bring the patient straight to Forrest General’s Cardiac Cath Lab to not delay care.
“Our team was already waiting on them in the Cath Lab when they arrived at the hospital,” Harless said. “We then proceeded to swiftly open the 100% blocked artery causing Mr. Therrell’s heart attack and also placed a temporary heart support (Impella) pump because his heart had become so weak. The device allowed Walt's heart time to rest while physicians fought to save his life.
"When someone has a severe heart attack, every minute matters," said Dr. Harless. "Our STEMI program is a coordinated team effort that ensures patients receive fast, expert care from the onset of symptoms through recovery."
At Forrest General, emergency physicians, cardiologists, cardiac catheterization lab staff, EMS providers, and referring hospitals across South Mississippi work together to rapidly identify STEMI patients and restore blood flow to the heart as quickly as possible.
For Walt, those minutes proved critical.
But even then, the fight wasn't over.
After the procedure, Walt coded again. For approximately 30 minutes, medical teams continued working to revive him, shocking him multiple times. By the end of the day, he had been shocked more than 10 times.
According to Dr. Harless, “Mr. Therrell’s story is nothing short of a miracle. But it is also a testament to the quality of the entire health care community we have here in Hattiesburg.”
Later, family members learned just how close they had come to losing him.
"They were getting ready to call it," Glenda said.
Then his heart rhythm returned.
When Dr. Harless later asked who had performed CPR at home, the family pointed to Stacy.
"He said, 'You saved your daddy's life,'" Glenda recalled.
"I just preserved it until the professionals got there," Stacy said.
Still, there were concerns about what kind of neurological function Walt might have after repeated cardiac arrests and prolonged loss of oxygen.
The family waited. And prayed.
When Walt finally woke up and recognized everyone around him, hope began to replace uncertainty.
Learning to Walk Again
The heart attack left lasting effects. Walt suffered eight mini-strokes related to the cardiac arrest episodes. For days, no one knew the extent of the damage.
Today, the biggest challenge isn't his heart. It's rebuilding strength and recovering from neurological deficits affecting his short-term memory and mobility.
“Through much prayer and hard work by our ICU Critical Care team, Mr. Therrell survived and became well enough to go to a regular hospital bed,” said Dr. Harless. “With more hard work by our hospital team, and with his family always by his side, Mr. Therrell made it out of the hospital and to a physical medicine rehab facility where therapists work with him daily to help regain his strength.”
Since March, Walt has progressed through intensive care, inpatient rehabilitation, skilled nursing, and continued therapy as he works toward returning home.
His days are filled with several hours of physical, occupational, and speech therapy. He's learning to walk with a walker again. He's working on memory exercises. He's determined to keep improving.
"I'm just the victim here," Walt joked. "An unwilling participant."
The humor remains intact. So does the determination.
Walking down the hallway and back leaves him tired. His arms grow fatigued from supporting himself with the walker, and therapy often leaves him ready for a nap.
But he keeps going.
"There's some folks in here who've had some situations and picked themselves up and keep going," he said. "You've got to have a positive attitude and be determined to do what it takes."
Dr. Harless said his patient’s long journey to recovery “is truly inspiring and exemplifies everything we strive to achieve in all aspects of healthcare. It would not have been possible without the good Lord and all the time, effort, and education invested into the healthcare community we have right here in Hattiesburg.”
Family
For four generations, pharmacy has been part of the Therrell family story.
Walt's father owned Therrell Drug Store in Ellisville. Walt followed him into the profession, retiring in 2018 after decades behind the counter. Glenda became a pharmacist. Stacy became a pharmacist. One grandson is currently studying pre-pharmacy.
Now the family that spent years caring for others is caring for him. Every day, Glenda drives to inpatient therapy and spends most of the day by his side.
"She chews my butt out when I need it and builds me up when I need it," Walt said.
His grandchildren, who have taken over mowing his 10 acres of grass, are ready for him to come home.
Walt is ready, too.
What's Next?
The answer is simple.
More therapy. More walking. More progress.
A few dental appointments to replace the front teeth lost during emergency intubation and, eventually, a trip back home to Ellisville.
Looking back, Walt remains grateful for the chain of events that saved his life — an 8-year-old grandson who heard him fall, a daughter who knew CPR, a deputy sheriff who arrived in time, EMS personnel who never gave up, and a team at Forrest General that was ready when every second mattered.
"I'm thankful we have a place in Hattiesburg, like Forrest General, that saved my life like that," he said.
For Walt Therrell, his biggest victory is still ahead.
Going home.
SIDEBAR:
Forrest General's STEMI Program
When someone experiences a STEMI, every minute matters. Forrest General's STEMI program brings together emergency physicians, cardiologists, cardiac catheterization lab staff, EMS providers, and referring hospitals across South Mississippi to rapidly identify heart attack patients and restore blood flow as quickly as possible.
The program works closely with local EMS agencies and 14 referring hospitals to coordinate care and reduce delays in treatment, helping save lives and minimize long-term heart damage.
On average, the program treats approximately 20 STEMI patients each month and has earned the American College of Cardiology's Platinum Performance Achievement Award for excellence in heart attack care. The program has also received nationally gold recognition by the American Heart Association for treatment of Coronary Artery Disease NSTEMI.
