Three Rights Make a Left

KEN LEONARD

THE RIGHT HOSPITAL MAKES A DIFFERENCE

Experience has taught me to be particular about my hospitals. In 2006, a month before the election for what would have been my third term as Kaufman County Commissioner, I had a heart attack while Lori was out of town. My chest felt tight, and I went to my neighbor Dr. Larry Bean, who worked in the Parkland ER at the time and told him my symptoms. He told me to get to an emergency room immediately. I had my teenage son Kaleb drive me to the closest hospital, I won’t say which. I sat in the waiting room for a very long time before they took me back. Then it was two hours before I saw a doctor. When they admitted me, I had to lay flat on my back because the hospital bed was broken and wouldn’t recline. I never received treatment, even though they had a heart catheterization lab, and the next day I had them transport me by ambulance to Big Baylor. By then Lori had flown back home and met me there. I was admitted to the Cardiac Hospital and quickly taken to the heart catheterization lab where two stents patched the problem. It was then I decided that if I had any major issues, I would bypass every hospital along the way and go to Baylor.

I have had several surgeries since: Rotator Cuff on my shoulder on my elbow, Achilles Tendon surgery, and eye surgery, all at day surgery centers, but for the big stuff I only go to Baylor.

When I was on the Forney EDC, bringing a hospital to Forney was one of our highest priorities and it almost happened. I am glad that in years after I was off of the EDC, my former neighbor Dr. Larry Bean and his partners started Care United and even later Baylor Scott and White established a terrific emergency facility with a helipad to get patents in dire need to a bigger facility quickly. Still Forney, the fastest growing city in the fastest growing county in the entire country, needs a top-notch hospital.

Being a man of a certain age, this week it was time for me to have prostate surgery. At my last heart checkup, Dr. Ravi Vallabhan, my favorite heart doctor asked if I was having prostate problems. I said, “Other than having to get up five times a night to go to the bathroom, no. He suggested I see a urologist to have that fixed because if I ever have to have heart surgery again, he doesn’t want prostate issues to be a complication. That made sense to me. Since we now live in Hunt County, I agreed to have it done at the Hunt Regional Medical Center. I have to say that I was a little apprehensive about using a regional hospital in a city that is smaller than Forney. I will say from the beginning, any reservations I had were unfounded. The staff, nurses, medical technicians, and doctors carried out their roles with genuine caring and professionalism especially my new favorite urologist, Dr. Anthony Elisco. The facilities were modern, well organized, and spotlessly clean. Literally, the last thought I had before the Nurse Anesthetist put me under was that if I had been brought in unconscious and gained consciousness at this very moment, I would think I was at Big Baylor. My experience was that familiar. Kudos all around to Hunt Regional, especially to my friend and former Senator Dr. Bob Deuell, Chief Medical Officer at HRMC.