Gil Bates is recovering after suffering a heart attack.

The Bringing Up Bates alum, 61, was hospitalized earlier this week after experiencing an unusual sensation in his chest for approximately two weeks, his wife, Kelly Jo Bates, revealed in an Instagram post on Wednesday, Sept. 30.

“For the past 2 weeks Gil has felt an unusual feeling in his chest lasting about 30 seconds off & on, and occasionally his jaw would hurt,” Kelly Jo wrote. “He wasn’t in pain, but he felt like something wasn’t right.”

According to Kelly Jo, busy schedules and Gil’s uncertainty over whether anything was seriously wrong initially kept the father of 19 from seeking medical attention.

On Monday, Sept. 28, after completing a tree job and mowing several yards, Gil ultimately decided to drive himself to the emergency room. He expected doctors would “do some blood work & send him home,” Kelly Jo recalled.

Instead, doctors determined Gil was having a mild heart attack and immediately began treating him with nitroglycerin and heparin to keep him stable.

The following day, Gil underwent a four-hour cardiac catheterization procedure that revealed significant blockages in multiple arteries.

Kelly Jo said doctors discovered that Gil’s left anterior descending (LAD) artery had an 80% blockage and “a lot of calcium build up.” Because a traditional balloon could not open the artery, doctors used intravascular lithotripsy before inserting a 24 mm stent.

Doctors then placed a 48 mm stent in Gil’s right coronary artery (RCA), which Kelly Jo said had a 95% blockage and was the artery where his heart attack occurred. A third artery was found to have a 45% to 50% blockage but did not require a stent.

“The doctor said Gil had been a ‘ticking time bomb’ & he was extremely close to having a major heart attack!” Kelly Jo wrote.

She added that the family was grateful the blockages were treated in time.

“Fortunately, it was corrected in time, and with GOD’S GRACE (and a wonderful team of doctors), we’re living out a MIRACLE & are going home today!” she continued. “The doctor said it could’ve been a VERY different story, & I could’ve been going home alone.”

Kelly Jo also shared a photo of herself and Gil smiling together from his hospital bed.

As he continues his recovery, Gil is expected to begin cardiac therapy next week and make changes to his diet and medications. Kelly Jo said her husband should eventually be able to resume his normal activities.

“We’re beyond thankful for the love, care, & many prayers we’ve been showered with from family, friends, & medical staff these past 2 days,” she wrote. “We would also covet your prayers, but mostly, we just want to lift our hands in praise to a powerful, wonderful, loving God for extending Gil’s life & letting us have another day to witness His goodness.”

Gil and Kelly Jo, who married in 1987, share 19 children. Their large family was featured on the reality series Bringing Up Bates, which followed the couple and their children for 10 seasons.

The hospitalization came shortly after the Bates family gathered for another major milestone. Gil and Kelly Jo’s 23-year-old son, Warden, celebrated with wife Kaybrie, 20, at a larger fall ceremony on Sept. 23, months after the couple initially exchanged vows in May.

Kaybrie previously explained that they moved up their first wedding so her ailing father could walk her down the aisle. He died three days later, and the newlyweds ultimately kept their original fall date as a vow renewal that allowed them to celebrate with friends and extended family.