Maynard Family Shows Gratitude for Dignity Health
At 5:00 in the morning on July 9, 2019, I suddenly lost my daily life-choices: all of them - gone. Even decisions as simple as when to use the bathroom were taken away. Like you, I have pride in the hundreds of decisions I make every day, and I was totally unprepared to be powerless.
At that moment, without warning and with no idea what was happening, a segment of my colon ruptured, forming a “fistula” which burst through the wall of my bladder and exploded. After an emergency flight from San Francisco to Phoenix, I arrived at the Arizona General Emergency Room in Northeast Mesa. I was in bad shape. Septic, convulsing, and with my abdomen full of toxins, I did not know it then - but I was dying. The Dignity Health care team vaulted into action, stabilizing my condition, administering fluids and antibiotics, and calming the seizures. Then they performed a CT scan. The amazing doctor and team diagnosed my condition and seamlessly arranged transport to Chandler Regional Medical Center. The team at Chandler was led by four clinical experts: Dr. Stevenson, Dr. Dyer, Dr. Waghray and Dr. Seddabattula. Dr. Stevenson and Dr. Dyer performed an amazing six hours of major organ-repair surgery in August and by September 6th, the last of my medical devices was removed. I was pronounced cured. And then, it felt miraculous. It felt like the physicians and their team had returned my decision-making powers back to me! I rejoiced in being powerful again.
If you’ve ever experienced surgery – or supported a family member during their surgery – then you will remember the long delay between your arrival at the hospital and whenever the actual procedure was performed. Its not unusual to wait hours – even a day or two – until you can undergo surgery. Why is this? In today’s state-of-art surgical hospitals, we have a CAPACITY problem. Waiting for an available room is like waiting to board a commercial airline flight: the prior flight first must be cleaned and re-provisioned before it is your turn. Your surgery team are waiting, too. They just cannot get in and get prepped, until one of the limited operating rooms has been “turned”. My life was saved by a skilled clinical team who got me to surgery just-in-time. Now I am on a mission to raise funds to help build state-of-the-art capacity at Chandler Regional Medical Center, and Mikki and I want your help (see below).
Donation