The Price family is grateful for advanced surgical care, outstanding Centra Caregivers and you. Advanced robotic surgery on the da Vinci 5 robotic surgical system, provided by your support, helped Kathy experience less pain, return home sooner and heal quickly, which meant she was able to get back to her family, faith community and patients faster.
When dedicated, longtime Centra Caregivers Kathy, RN, and Robbie Price, MSN, interact with a patient, they see more than symptoms. They see the person.
“We are all someone’s son, daughter, mother, father,” Robbie says. It is a sentiment he thinks about during each patient interaction.
He is glad other Centra Caregivers also care for and about each patient, especially since Kathy needed surgery recently.
Robbie is also grateful for the generosity of the community. Over the years, Kathy and Robbie have witnessed many ways the community has supported patients and helped to advance care at Centra, including with the latest robotic surgical system. With plenty of gratitude to go around, the couple wanted to share their Gratitude Heals story.
Robbie wrote, “My wife had to undergo surgery at Lynchburg General. Dr. William Kittrell did her surgery using the new robot funded by the Centra Foundation. She was out of the hospital in four days. Just two weeks out from surgery, she was up and about and anxious to get back to work.”
On ‘the other side of care’
Kathy’s care journey began several months earlier when she was admitted to the hospital with complications from diverticulitis. Based on severity, she learned she would likely need surgery to prevent a severe infection from recurring.
Like anyone facing surgery, Kathy was a little nervous. “But I had great confidence in my care team,” she shares. “I had heard positive things about Dr. Kittrell and learning that he would use the robot for the procedure helped me feel confident in my choice.”
She is grateful for Dr. Kittrell’s excellent care and also praises her nurses, Nutrition Services, the surgical physician assistants who made her feel “comfortable and confident,” and advanced practice providers Gabby Crawford and Stephine Spina who “were excellent and assured me along the way.”
Gratitude for a positive outcome
Kathy’s outcome? Positive all around thanks to clinical excellence and high-quality, compassionate care.
“I did not have much post-operative pain once I got home,” she shares. “I definitely feel like I was back on my feet sooner.”
For Kathy, who knew at a young age she wanted to follow her mother and sister into nursing, being back on her feet meant getting back to her cardiac patients and having energy for her full life.
“My faith, family and patients are very important to me,” Kathy says. “I enjoy being involved in our small group at church. Being in good health is essential for me to be able to show up for them.”
Robbie, recognizable from Centra commercials and even a fun viral video and follow-up video that aims to help the public know when to seek emergency care or go to urgent care, describes Kathy as an “awesome” mother to their two sons, strong, resilient and a compassionate nurse.
“She also has a lot of patience in that she has put up with me for all this time,” he jokes.
Reflecting on the care, Robbie shared that “the experience has definitely deepened our appreciation for the Caregivers we work alongside daily. Life can change on a dime. The person you are working with today could be your patient tomorrow. It is so important that we treat every patient with dignity and respect. We are firsthand recipients of excellent care and cannot be thankful enough for the profound impact each person had. It makes a difference.”
He also has a message for donors.
“Donors may not always hear feedback on their generous gifts, but the robot definitely had a positive impact on our lives. Thank you so much for investing in our system and community. As beneficiaries of your generous donations, we are extremely grateful. Our journey reminded us that healthcare isn’t just about medicine. It’s about people caring for people. We’re proud to be part of that mission, both as Caregivers and as grateful patients.”
Have you or a loved one received excellent care at Centra? Saying ‘thank you’ and expressing your appreciation by sharing your personal words of gratitude can uplift your dedicated team of Caregivers, be a powerful part of the healing process, inspire generosity and impact patients.
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