New Albany man thankful for good emergency medical care

30 January 2017

Letter to the Editor,

On 3 January 2017 I was working at home building on my latest project, a combination carport and storage building. About mid-morning I had a severe pain in my back that I normally associated with heartburn. I had had these before and discounted them, usually by taking a Prilosec or Mylanta or both in severe cases. Today was different in the fact that the pain went deep and was extra painful. I got down off my ladder and laid down on my wood pile in an attempt to get my breath and composure. After about ten minutes my phone rang and it was my wife telling me she was on her way home for lunch. I told her of my pain and thought I needed to see doctor, needless to say she rushed home and took to me to Creekmore Clinic to Dr. Brad Scott. I was initially seen by his wife, a nurse practitioner, who immediately called Dr. Scott in and they did some initial blood work, administered some meds and took me immediately across the street to Baptist ER. I was met at the door by Jake Broussard, who is also a friend and was immediately carried in and they went to work to get everything checked and stabilized before transporting me to North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo.

By now I had become severely frightened and it was a blessing to have familiar faces around me and caring for me by the Baptist ER Team. Friends and familiar faces are a blessing when you are scared. Once they had made arrangements for me and were certain that I was ready for transport, off they took me by ambulance to the Cath lab in Tupelo. I spent the night there and was taken to Cath Lab the next morning to see if I had any blockages. When I came to I was on second floor of NMMC, a few minutes later the surgeon Dr.Ferguson came in and told me that I had four blockages (one 100%, one 90%, and two 70% ) and stints would not fix them on top of the initial pain which turned out to be a heart attack instead of heartburn. He explained my options and only one made sense. This Dr. had a great bedside manner and he spoke in a language easy for me to understand. The next morning I was prepped for surgery and he went to work. The next morning I woke up to find that they had repaired the four blockage with three bypasses. I spent the next five days in NMMC and was given the best care imaginable. The entire staff treated not only me, but every other patient on the floor like kings and queens. They made sure I had everything I needed to get on the road to recovery. My wife Janet was also treated royally.

I would like to thank Dr. Scott, his wife, the entire ER Team at Baptist, the ambulance personnel, Dr. Ferguson(Heart surgeon), and the entire Cardio-Vascular Team, and all the nurses and everyone else at the NMMC for taking such great care of me and giving me another shot at life. I do not feel that I could have gotten any better care anywhere than I got here starting with Creekmore Clinic and ending with the gentleman that rode me from my hospital room to the front door and put me in the car. I am most thankful for my Wonderful Wife who has been and still is watching over me and taking great care of me. As I write this it has been twenty-five days since the surgery and I am recovering very well and am looking forward to many more years of life.

I am truly one of the most blessed men on the face of this earth.

Tim Burress