Chaplain credits HCA Florida Putnam Hospital team for saving him

Ricky Bybee is a familiar figure in Palatka. When he’s not at Hope FM in his role as outreach coordinator, he’s serving families as associate pastor at Trinity Baptist Church and as an on-call chaplain at HCA Florida Putnam Hospital. On a recent morning at the radio station, he suddenly realized his hand wouldn’t work.

“The day before, I felt numbness in my arm and didn’t do anything about it,” Ricky recounted. “Now my arm went completely numb like it was someone else’s. I went to my doctor’s office, and they immediately called the ER.”

The retired Navy veteran was rushed to HCA Florida Putnam Hospital’s emergency room. His blood pressure was 211 over 104. He was having a stroke.

“They are a well-oiled machine,” Ricky said of his emergency care team. “Everyone did their part and they did it well.”

As a long-time hospital volunteer, Ricky knows many of the people who took care of him that day. But it was a different experience to be there as a patient with a serious health issue. He was grateful for their expertise and professionalism.

“Every nurse on the staff, the team the from cleaning crew to lunch team, everyone was top shelf,” Ricky recalled. “Top of the line. You just couldn’t ask for better. Not only that, but it’s people I trust.”

He noted the hospital team made sure his wife was comforted and kept updated.

“It was traumatic for my family. They brought meals to my wife, they made sure she was comfortable, that she was well informed,” he said. “Every person there was compassionate and caring.”

Dr. Nicole Jaques is an emergency medicine physician at HCA Florida Putnam Hospital, where she’s practiced for several years. She says it’s very important that patients trust that they will get the help they need.

“They see the genuine concern and care that our staff has,” Dr. Jaques said. “That goes a long way to reinforce that feeling that you will not only be taken care of medically, but that we are concerned about your comfort and the outcome you have.”

She’s grateful to Ricky for sharing his cautionary tale – if you don’t feel right, don’t wait to get help.

“People want to wait to see if they get better. If it’s not painful, they may think it’s not serious,” she said. “Don’t worry about second-guessing yourself. If you need us, we’re here. And if for any reason you need to come back, I want people to feel absolutely welcomed coming into our ER, because I want them to come back whenever they need us.”

Ricky is glad he didn’t wait any longer to go in, and grateful to the entire team.

“I’ve been all over the world and I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else,” Ricky said. “I believe they saved my life.”