🏉💔 Former Wales rugby star Rhys Thomas, 43, has just had a life-saving heart transplant in South Africa, 14 years after a major health scare during his playing days.
Rhys, a powerhouse prop with seven caps for Wales, suffered a massive heart attack back in 2012 during a training session with the Scarlets. Surgeons worked tirelessly for seven hours performing a quadruple bypass to save him. This wasn’t his first brush with danger, as he’d had a milder heart attack six years earlier while playing for Newport Gwent Dragons.
Despite being told his heart was “un-transplantable” because of pulmonary hypertension, Rhys pushed through, embodying the spirit of a true warrior. In 2014, he underwent another gruelling surgery for a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to keep him going. His titanium heart pump kept him alive for 12 years—a record in the UK! But by 2020, it wasn’t enough.
Unable to get on the urgent transplant list in the UK, Rhys sought solutions elsewhere, eventually heading to his birthplace, South Africa. Finally, in April this year, he received the call he and his fiancée Keziah Green had been waiting for: a new heart! ❤️
Following the surgery, Rhys has been basking in an “immense feeling of gratitude unlike anything before.” He feels blessed and urges anyone with struggles to seek help.
But wait, there’s more: Rhys has turned a corner from his past struggles with alcohol. Now seven years sober, he shares his story to inspire others battling addiction.
From rugby heroics in the Six Nations Grand Slam to conquering personal demons, Rhys’ journey is all about resilience and hope. 🙌 If his story tells us anything, it’s that with determination, anything is possible!
Feel free to share your thoughts and well-wishes for Rhys as he embarks on a new chapter in life with a new heart! 💪🌍