League City mayor has left leg amputated
The mayor of League City had his left leg amputated this week following a heart attack, but his grateful family is heralding the outcome as a miracle.
Pat Hallisey, a longtime Galveston County resident, was rushed last week to the local emergency room, where doctors discovered the 67-year-old had suffered a heart attack and had diabetesrelated vascular blockages in his legs, according to his family.
“His heart attack probably saved his life,” his wife, Janice Hallisey, said Saturday. “He’s a very blessed man this morning.”
Doctors said his heart was weak from multiple heart attacks and that his poorly managed diabetes caused blockages in his legs, according to a post his daughter Ashley Hallisey wrote Friday on Facebook.
“After hours without blood flow to the legs the muscles start to die and release chemicals into the body that attack the kidneys, and he was at risk for infection, so they had to act fast,” she wrote.
Doctors contemplated a double amputation.
“Everything happened so fast,” his wife said. “All the doctors kept saying ‘This is about his life and living, not about his leg.’ ”
When he first went into surgery Oct. 10, Hallisey had a bad reaction to the anesthesia, and medical staff decided to fly him to Memorial Hermann Hospital, his wife said. At the Houston hospital, doctors realized they could save his right leg.
“It’s a miracle,” his wife said. “We’ve seen miracles right in front of our eyes.”
Mayor Pro Tem Todd Kinsey publicly announced the mayor’s medical struggles during an Oct. 10 City Council meeting, which the mayor missed as he was LifeFlighted to the Texas Medical Center.
Hallisey, a 30-year League City resident, most recently took office in 2016, though he’s been a longtime presence on the local political scene.
The mayor has battled circulation problems in the past, his wife said, and doctors had previously removed blockages in his legs. He’d had some leg pain in recent weeks, but didn’t think it was anything serious.
The mayor’s surgery was completed Thursday and he was set to be moved to intensive care Saturday, his daughter wrote. He’s eating solid food and talking with his daughters, according to his wife.
And he wants to go back to work.
“He already asked the city manager to come up to see him yesterday to discuss business,” Janice Hallisey said. “And he’s already been asking me every morning since Thursday, he wants his phone and he wants his newspaper — and I said no.”