Gil Bates Health Update After Heart Attack: Stents, 95 Percent Blockage, and a 5 A.M. Water Pump

Bringing Up Bates fans got a big update Friday when Kelly Jo Bates posted that her husband Gil is doing well after a September heart attack. The timeline is what makes this one hit hard. Gil had been dealing with chest and jaw symptoms for weeks before the attack, and when doctors finally checked, they found a 95 percent blockage in one artery and 80 percent in the LAD. Kelly Jo says they were told he was a“ticking time bomb”and extremely close to a major heart attack. He ended up receiving stents in two arteries.

The follow-up news is good. Kelly Jo shared that he got a good report at his appointment and that cardiac therapy begins next week. She described him as“a trooper”who is feeling great. The catch? Getting him to actually take it easy has been a group effort, because Gil stayed up until 5 a.m. two nights in a row repairing the family’s water pump with help from several of his sons.

Gil and Kelly Jo have been married since 1987 and raised 19 kids, so the man has spent decades running on fumes for his family. This time, though, rest is part of the job. What’s the one symptom you’d be most likely to brush off, and what would finally make you call the doctor?