A Dallas police officer who collapsed and nearly died while on bike patrol returned home Thursday after two weeks of treatment at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas.
Doctors say Senior Cpl. Jimmy Thongrivong’s survival is a miracle. They say he was dead for a short time before he could be revived at the hospital.
“I have a second chance,” Thongrivong said at a news conference Thursday.[[299255571,C]]
He and his partner, Lt. Earnest Sherman, were patrolling near Santa Fe and Fairview Avenues when Thongrivong collapsed on March 27.
Sherman and a witness performed CPR until medical personnel arrived, according to police.
“I had to keep the blood flowing and heart pumping,” Sherman said Thursday at the hospital.
Doctors say Thongrivong suffered from heart disease and had blockages in all three major coronary arteries. They say he was dead on arrival at the hospital and was put on a ventilator while they revived him.
Thongrivong is grateful for what he calls a second chance at life.
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“I'm just glad to be back in my warm bed, to see, spend some time with my kids and my wife,” he said.
He’ll be allowed to return to duty after rehabilitation.
“He was doing it with the handicap of those blockages. Now, he has those arteries open, so he's going to chase bad guys even faster,” said Dr. James Choi, part of Thongrivong’s medical team.
