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No Place Like Home
By Loren B. Hamel, MD
Aug, 2015
Physicians: Daniel Reichert, MD; Roy Winslow, MD; David Blue, MD
The pain was sudden, sharp, and severe. It was located in her right flank and radiated to the top of her shoulder.
She had a reason to be concerned. It was the first time she had experienced the pain. She was on an airplane over the Atlantic, and was heading far from home.
My wife Ann and I had planned to be away for just six days. Our plans suddenly changed. Our goal now was to get Ann back home, and back to Lakeland, where she could get the care she needed.
I may not be a practicing physician anymore, but it didn't stop me from concluding that Ann was having her first gall bladder attack. I also knew that if I had a choice I would much rather have Ann at a facility, and connected to a surgeon, that could offer her a single incision, robotically-assisted, gallbladder surgery.
That's not my preference just because I'm a CEO, that's my preference because I've been a patient and underwent my own robotic surgery. That was my wife's choice as well.
In fact, getting our health care at Lakeland is so important to us, that we buy extra travel insurance that ensures, in case of a medical emergency, we can get home from anywhere in the world.
So we scheduled an appointment with Daniel Reichert, MD, our family physician, and an appointment with Roy Winslow, MD, a general surgeon. And just in case, we reserved a spot in the surgical schedule. And then we boarded a flight for home.
As we flew back I couldn’t help but feel grateful to the Lakeland Board of Directors. They made the decision to place da Vinci robots in our St. Joseph and Niles hospitals and at the Center for Outpatient Surgery. That commitment has made minimally invasive surgery much more accessible, and incidentally much more affordable, to those we serve.
And I felt grateful to the clinical team that is committed to provide care in the least invasive way possible. They have been trained, and have become very proficient, in providing the gentlest care possible.
With the help of a restricted diet, some pain medication, and a few prayers, we returned home safely. Within a few hours a diagnosis of gallstones was confirmed. The following morning the surgical consult was completed, questions were answered, and consent was signed. Ann had her robotically-assisted laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gallbladder surgery) just after you ate breakfast last Friday morning and was home resting comfortably before you had lunch.
Sounds routine, doesn't it? It may to some, but I can assure you from the perspective of a patient and her husband, it is far from routine. We are both so grateful to Drs. Winslow, Blue, and Reichert. And to Rekha Bitterman, Karen Waterbrook, Moniica Woods, Stacey Young, Jessica Austin, Pamela Mabry, and Young Seo, as well as all those working behind the scenes. We were grateful they brought their skills to work, and blessed by how they brought their hearts to work. Ann and I thank you so very much.
When it comes to health care, there is no place like home.