For most of his life, Thomas Mayes, MD, MBA, stood on the other side of the hospital bed, caring for countless patients.
A pediatric critical care specialist, educator and longtime leader at UT Health San Antonio, the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio, Mayes spent decades caring for critically ill children, mentoring future physicians and helping to build pediatric programs that would serve patients across South Texas.
"I spent 20 years at UT Health San Antonio, It was the main focus of my life."
Thomas Mayes, MD, MBA
Mayes settled into San Antonio as a proud member of the U.S. Air Force, later joining the Department of Pediatrics at the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine, where he helped establish the Pediatric Critical Care Program. In his career, Mayes served as clinical dean of the School of Medicine and chair of pediatrics.
In 2016, shortly after retiring, his life took an unexpected turn. While working in Washington, D.C., a routine chest X-ray revealed interstitial lung disease. Further testing confirmed pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive and irreversible scarring of the lungs.
At first, nothing felt different, but in early 2020, his health declined rapidly. Breathing became difficult and oxygen became necessary. What had once felt so distant from his everyday life became urgent.
As the COVID-19 pandemic strained health systems nationwide, Mayes decided to return to San Antonio, not as a physician but as a patient seeking care from the doctors he trusted and knew would guide him through the uncertainty of his illness.
Within weeks, he began evaluation for a lung transplant and was placed on the transplant list later that summer. His condition worsened, leading to respiratory failure and the need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a complex life-support therapy.
Though ECMO could sustain him, only a transplant could save his life. During months of uncertainty, Mayes found strength in the people around him. Friends, colleagues and family rallied, offering constant encouragement. At the center of his hospital room, taped to a wall, were photographs of his granddaughters.
“Any time anybody walked in the room, that's what they saw,” Mayes recalled. “I dreamed about being able to spend time with my grandchildren, so I hope seeing those two little girls up on the wall cheered people up; it cheered me up.”
On Feb. 27, 2021, lungs became available. Supported by UT Health San Antonio physicians and the health care team at University Hospital, he woke days later to a successful procedure.
Reshaping his understanding as both a patient and a physician, Mayes fully understands what it means to live on the patient side of care, including the vulnerability, dependence and emotions that go into extended hospital stays.
Five years post-transplant, Mayes lives an active and full life, grateful for the healthcare team and the training that helped save his life. As a grateful patient, he has found a new way to make lives better.
Drawing on his medical career and patient experience, Mayes now speaks to physicians across different health systems, including UT Health San Antonio, sharing his patient perspective to help other physicians understand the patient side of healthcare.
"I hope to help physicians understand a patient's perspective on being ill, especially being in a hospital for a long time. Despite everything that's being done for you, you're not at home, you're not with your family."
Thomas Mayes, MD, MBA
With deep gratitude for the healthcare teams trained at UT Health San Antonio, Mayes is thankful for the life-saving care that has allowed him to be an active husband, father and grandfather, as well as an advocate for the many patients in need of compassionate, life-saving care.
