Giving back, with a smile

"Take an antacid," was a doctor's advice to Neils Lindquist, when he complained about an unsettled stomach during an appointment. "He said to give my new medications a few days," says Neils. "But the symptoms weren't going away. I didn't know what to do."

When Neils' sister arrived a few days later, she had a different take. "She took one look at me and said, 'Neil, you don't look well at all.'"

She drove him to the ER at Poinciana Hospital the next morning. It wasn't a moment too soon. "The tests showed I was suffering from a perforated bowel and needed emergency surgery," Neils explains. "But there were complications in the OR. My heart was too weak to go through with the procedure."

Instead, Neils spent nearly four weeks in intensive care and had four separate surgeries. Despite the stressful situation, he says the care of the staff at Poinciana Hospital made a huge impact on his recovery.

"I gained the utmost respect for the ICU nurses and staff. Every day, I was visited with a smile and words of encouragement." After he was discharged to a rehabilitation facility, his surgeon and staff from Poinciana Hospital continued working with him through follow-up visits. "They saw me progress from being wheelchair-bound, to using a walker, then a cane. At last, I was walking unassisted again."

"Now, I'm home and feeling fantastic," he says. But Neils' experience made one big difference in his lifestyle. "My care at Poinciana Hospital was so wonderful, I decided I wanted to become a volunteer as soon as I recovered. I look forward to giving back to this outstanding hospital."