Rick

Flight attendant Helen Bovay was at the Raleigh Durham International Airport getting ready to board the next flight on her rotation, when her phone rang. An ambulance attendant’s voice informed her that her husband had been in a terrible car crash and was being taken to the ER.

Helen caught the next flight back to Memphis and rushed to The Methodist ER. She asked “where is my husband Rick Bovay?” They said we don’t have him, he must be at The MED. Helen felt the desperation and the miles crushing down on her. Where was The MED? What was The MED? Was her husband alive?

Residents of Mud Island, the Bovays live three miles from The MED. Like many people, they never knew about it until there was a life-threatening injury.

Rick Bovay was driving his low-profile Miata when it collided with a Ford Excursion.  While the SUV emerged unscathed, the Miata was totaled with the most severe damage in the front driver’s side.

By the time Helen arrived at The MED and found Rick, doctors at The Elvis Presley Memorial Trauma Center were having candid conversations about the possibility of Rick losing his leg.  Rick was so grateful to survive the crash and have Helen by his side that losing his leg was an acceptable consequence.

It wasn’t acceptable to the staff and surgeons at the trauma center. Rick’s leg needed stabilizing surgery fast, but his heart beat was irregular. The cardiologist had to determine what was going on with Rick’s heart before the orthopedic team could perform surgery.

After being cleared by the cardiologist, Rick underwent surgery to insert rods into his leg to stabilize his knee. He needed a second surgery to repair the crushed tibia in his lower leg and a third to repair the crushed bones in his heel, but all that would have to wait until the significant swelling in his leg subsided.

“We were at The MED for three weeks,” said Rick. “It may sound funny, but we had a pleasant experience. The surgeons and residents, and the nursing staff, were concerned about me and interested in my care. Bob Frank, our patient ambassador, came by everyday to talk to us and check on my progress. That’s a really great program.”

Helen was by Rick’s side the entire time, except for a couple of hours a day when she went home to shower and check on their little puppy.

“The MED is exactly where Rick needed to be,” said Helen. “They have a great trauma team and great cardiologists. From the foodservice to the nurses, they were very kind. It was truly an amazing experience.”

Rick and Helen got to see patient advocacy in action every day with Bob Frank, but they were probably most surprised by the Indianapolis Colts cake the foodservice staff made so the couple could celebrate their five year anniversary together on Super Bowl Sunday 2010.

“We were so touched that Bob knew it was our anniversary and that Helen loves the Colts,” recounted Rick. “We were impressed that the foodservice staff took time to make us this great cake to help us celebrate.”

After the knee and ankle surgeries to install screws and plates, Rick was discharged to recover at home with strict instructions to stay off his leg for four months and keep it elevated before beginning eight months of physical therapy.

The road back has not been easy for Rick, but the Ford Excursion never dented his positive attitude.

“There's a sharp pain in my knee joint when I put weight on my right leg and stiffness in my knee and ankle, so I walk with a limp,” said Rick. “I'm grateful and thankful that my lower leg was saved by the top-notch medical technology at The MED -- and by the incredible skills of my orthopedic surgeon at The MED, Dr. Matthew Rudloff from the Campbell Clinic. I focus on what I'm still able to do. I don't dwell on what I'm no longer able to do.”

One in four people you know may be like Rick and need The MED one day. If you would like to support excellence at The MED, please give to The MED Foundation.