After a heart attack and quadruple bypass, Thomas Faragher walks to show others recovery is possible

GLEN ALLEN, Va. — For Thomas Faragher, participating in the Central Virginia Heart Walk is about more than reaching the finish line. It’s about showing others that life after a heart attack can still be full of purpose, connection and possibility.

Faragher, who survived a heart attack and underwent quadruple bypass surgery, will be among this year’s award recipients recognized at the walk on Saturday, Oct. 17, at Innsbrook North Shore Commons Lawn in Glen Allen.

CBS 6 anchor GeNienne Samuels, who recently shared Faragher’s survival and recovery story, will return as the event’s emcee.

The annual fundraiser supports the American Heart Association and its lifesaving research. Participants can choose a one-mile or three-mile route.

For Faragher, the event offers a chance to help others through both fundraising and example.

“I feel like one of the best ways I can help is just to model it for other people, to show them that even though I went through all this, you can recover,” he said. “And you can do things like a heart, a heart walk and walk 3 miles, and at the same time, you can help other people out as well.”

Finding purpose in recovery

Faragher understands how frightening a heart attack can be — and how uncertainty about the future can linger afterward.

“A lot of people when they have a heart attack, they look at it like a death sentence,” he said. “And I don’t necessarily mean physically dead, but spiritually dead.”

He wants people facing that fear to see his recovery and find encouragement, while recognizing that everyone’s experience is different.

“You, you can and you will recover if you stick with it,” he said. “You know, maybe not everybody to the same degree, but you gotta focus on quality of life and recovery.”

His personal philosophy centers on making that life meaningful.

“Not so much on living long, but living well,” Faragher said. “And if you live well, you’ll live long. That’s how I feel and that’s my philosophy.”

‘I knew something was wrong’

Faragher also hopes his experience encourages people to pay attention when something feels wrong.

Before his heart attack, he had been exercising and considered himself physically fit. That made it difficult for him to accept what was happening.

“I was like there’s no way I could be having a heart attack. I’m in too good of shape,” he recalled.

Looking back, he wishes he had sought help earlier.

“My biggest regret is that I didn’t go get it checked sooner. Because I knew something was wrong,” he said. “It’s just, in my mind, I refuse to believe I was having a heart attack.”

He tried to explain away what he was experiencing.

“No, it’s gotta be pneumonia. No, it’s gotta be this or that,” he said. “No. I was, my heart was failing, and I didn’t want to accept that.”

His message now: “Gotta be proactive.”

Small steps and shared support

Asked what he would tell someone who feels overwhelmed about becoming more active or changing habits, Faragher offered encouragement drawn from his own experience.

“You just start small,” he said.

For him, that means building gradually rather than expecting everything to change at once.

“Every day, try to walk a little more, walk a little farther, and just keep building it up,” he said.

The Heart Walk also provides something Faragher values deeply: a chance to connect with people who understand the experience of heart disease.

He recalled meeting others through the American Heart Association whose heart conditions began in childhood.

“I remember just feeling like really humbled, like, wow. And you fought through all that,” he said.

That shared understanding is another reason he wants to participate.

“It’s real important to have that fellowship and to know kindred spirits are out there,” Faragher said. “Isolation never helps anybody.”

How to participate

The Central Virginia Heart Walk takes place Saturday, Oct. 17, at Innsbrook North Shore Commons Lawn in Glen Allen. Registration is open, with one-mile and three-mile route options.

Samuels will once again emcee the event, which brings survivors, families and supporters together to raise funds for the American Heart Association and its lifesaving research.

CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.