‘Big Brother’ Contestant Shares Photo From Hospital Following Stroke

Big Brother alum Libra Thompson is recovering after suffering a stroke earlier this month.

The Season 10 contestant took to Instagram on Monday to share a photo of herself in the hospital while revealing that she “unfortunately experienced a stroke event” on Feb. 1, while attending a work conference in San Antonio, Tex.

“Hi Friends! After being finally able to sort through it all…I would like to thank each and everyone for reaching out and sending me well wishes!” Thompson wrote on Instagram, adding that “luckily my roommate, co-worker, and friend was there” when she suffered the stroke.

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“I would like to thank the neurologist Dr. Roach and all of the staff who took care of me at Methodist Metropolitan hospital,” she continued. “I am most grateful that they were able to pinpoint a cause [of] my stroke, although [it] was considered a cryptogenic stroke it was found to be due to me having a PFO—patent foramen ovale, which is a small hole in my heart.”

A patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a hole in the heart that didn’t close the way it should after birth, according to the Mayo Clinic. While most people never need treatment for a PFO, it does come with increased stroke risk, as sometimes small blood clots may travel to the left side of the heart through the PFO, where they can then travel to the brain and block blood flow.

“I will be meeting with both a neurologist and cardiologist this week with UT physicians that specialize in PFO events for my plan if care,” Thompson shared of her treatment moving forward, writing that while she “really hates asking,” she is putting her “pride aside” and asking colleagues at the school district in which she works to donate any of their extra days off to her.

“I really hate asking, but pride aside, donate days would help me out tremendously!” she wrote. “I will have [a] considerable amount of medical bills while being on an unpaid FMLA leave and I am finding out that heart surgery is some of the most expensive around!”

“All that being said I am so blessed that I am on the other side of this and I am on the mend!” Thompson concluded, signing off “with a grateful heart!”

Thompson appeared on Season 10 of Big Brother in 2008 and came in ninth place, becoming the first member of the jury. She might not have won BB10, but Thompson cemented herself as part of the CBS show’s history during an iconic fight that broke out on Keesha Smith’s birthday.

After an incredibly awkward rendition of “Happy Birthday,” Thompson broke the tension by asking, “Anybody want cake?” The moment has been repeatedly cited as one of the most memorable in Big Brother history.