Thomas Edison
68-year-old Thomas Edison spent 46 days in Research Medical Center's ICU and Inpatient Rehab Unit due to an infection.
“God works through people and they worked through the nurses and rehab team here.”
In March 2023, Thomas Edison, 68-years-old and a former Environmental Services Technician with Research Medical Center, had an unexpected reunion with his old workplace when he came back to the hospital as a patient.
After developing a debilitating infection, he found himself trying to get out of bed to get ready for work only to discover he had no strength in his extremities. He fell to the ground and would remain there struggling for six days while attempting to use all the strength he could muster just to reach a phone and call for help.
Lucky for him, his current employer did wellness checks. When they hadn’t seen him, they went to his residence and heard his faint voice come through the door and they were able to get the landlord to let them in.
From the time Thomas was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to RMC’s Inpatient Rehab Unit, he witnessed compassionate care efforts come to life among his coordinated care teams, including nursing staff and numerous physician specialists like Megan Garcia, MD, general surgeon and burn specialist; Andrew Lueder, MD, physiatrist; Jacobs, MD, hospitalist; Lucas Vocelka, DO, infectious disease specialist; Robert Golder, nephrologist; and John Chipko, MD, trauma surgeon.
“The nurses came as a team,” Thomas said. “I was impressed with the ICU nurses and rehab staff. You can tell that everyone has bought into caring for the patient. They paid me so much attention and their behaviors made me feel like I was important.”
Every staff member across HCA Healthcare knows its mission: above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life. After Thomas’s experience with RMC’s ICU and Rehab care teams, he proudly states that the Above All Else mission came to fruition.
“You can’t teach people to care. It must come naturally and be a calling,” Thomas said. “The comradery I witnessed between the nurses, amongst the nurses was very professional and very personal. I knew I was in the right place. This is how I will always think of RMC now.”
Thomas spent 28 days in acute care and 18 days in inpatient rehab. He credits the Inpatient Rehab team with helping him get his functional skills back, including learning to walk again.
“This has made me realize the importance of family and taking care of myself; I can’t wait to be with my siblings, children and granddaughter, and have another chance at living my best life.”