On December 17th of 2018, Bill Phillips of Pine Bluff survived a head-on automobile accident near Hot Springs that left him with severe internal injuries including 13 broken ribs, a ruptured spleen, and severe injuries to his lungs, pancreas and large intestine. He wasn’t expected to live, but Bill was operated on by a “wizard” of a surgeon, and underwent an amazing recovery. Three years later, however, he faced another potentially deadly situation: colon cancer.
“I had been having some problems and it was also time for a routine colonoscopy,” Bill explained. “The exam showed a malignant tumor and a lot of scar tissue from the surgery following the car wreck.” About a foot and a half of Bill’s colon was removed by Jefferson Regional General Surgeon Charles Mabry, M.D. and a follow-up colonoscopy a few months later resulted in the removal of more polyps.
“I couldn’t have asked for better care than what I received from Dr. Mabry,” Bill said. “He was very thorough. We looked at the information, talked it through and he made sure I understood it all.” Bill was also pleased with his care at Jefferson Regional. “I was treated like a king in anesthesia and recovery,” he said, “and the nursing staff was incredible. The nurses who cared for me were the absolute best.”
Bill also had a surprise visitor the morning of his surgery: that wizardly surgeon, J.R. Taylor, III, M.D. who helped save his life a few years earlier is now working at Jefferson Regional. “Who would have ever expected that? It really meant a lot that he stopped to check in on me.”
Bill has not required any additional treatment, and he is now back to a normal routine, which includes a colonoscopy every year – a small price for being cancer-free. “I could not have been more pleased with Jefferson Regional, from admissions all the way to the billing department,” he said, “and now I also see Jefferson Regional physicians for cardiac, orthopaedic and pulmonology care. I tell everyone how great my experience has been. They are the total package.”
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