They put their hearts into healing mine: Stephen’s story
You never quite know what’s going on under the surface, until you take a closer look. That was the case for Indiana man Stephen Gettelfinger.
“We’d been in Florida,” he recalled. “I was walking four miles a day, biking 12 to 15 miles. Maybe I felt a little tired in the afternoons, but I thought that was just from the cancer treatments. I had no clue anything was going on with my heart.”
Stephen, who previously had follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, had been advised to keep tabs on his overall health with regular visits to a primary care doctor. So, when tests showed high calcium levels, often associated with lymphoma, he wasn’t surprised. What did seem out of the ordinary was the additional order for an echocardiogram, which monitors heart conditions, and a stress test.
Then, cardiologist Matthew Keith, MD, was called.
“He said I needed a heart cath,” Stephen said. “Dr. Keith showed me the blockage on the screen. It was too tough for stents. He told me, ‘You’re young enough that we should go ahead and do open-heart surgery.’”
With plans to go back to the beach now on hold, Stephen moved ahead with surgery. He credits the top-notch care from the entire Baptist Health Floyd staff for making the experience far better than he could have imagined.
“Everyone I encountered – the echo techs, the nurses, Dr. Keith – they were just incredible,” Stephen said. “I mean, it’s just unbelievable to get that kind of attention. Sometimes you feel like you’re a nuisance or in the way, but not there, not at Baptist Health Floyd. I never felt like anything other than important.”
If not for his primary care doctor’s attentiveness and the rapid response of the cardiac team, Stephen might have returned to Florida unaware of the risk he was carrying. It’s why Baptist Health Floyd continues to invest in life-saving heart services. Because of community support, patients benefit from advanced diagnostics, rapid coordination, and a care team that sees the person behind the chart.
This kind of care happens because people believe in a mission to serve with excellence and urgency. Every step of Stephen’s journey was touched by people who made his life a priority – including you, our donors.
“We’d been in Florida,” he recalled. “I was walking four miles a day, biking 12 to 15 miles. Maybe I felt a little tired in the afternoons, but I thought that was just from the cancer treatments. I had no clue anything was going on with my heart.”
Stephen, who previously had follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, had been advised to keep tabs on his overall health with regular visits to a primary care doctor. So, when tests showed high calcium levels, often associated with lymphoma, he wasn’t surprised. What did seem out of the ordinary was the additional order for an echocardiogram, which monitors heart conditions, and a stress test.
Then, cardiologist Matthew Keith, MD, was called.
“He said I needed a heart cath,” Stephen said. “Dr. Keith showed me the blockage on the screen. It was too tough for stents. He told me, ‘You’re young enough that we should go ahead and do open-heart surgery.’”
With plans to go back to the beach now on hold, Stephen moved ahead with surgery. He credits the top-notch care from the entire Baptist Health Floyd staff for making the experience far better than he could have imagined.
“Everyone I encountered – the echo techs, the nurses, Dr. Keith – they were just incredible,” Stephen said. “I mean, it’s just unbelievable to get that kind of attention. Sometimes you feel like you’re a nuisance or in the way, but not there, not at Baptist Health Floyd. I never felt like anything other than important.”
If not for his primary care doctor’s attentiveness and the rapid response of the cardiac team, Stephen might have returned to Florida unaware of the risk he was carrying. It’s why Baptist Health Floyd continues to invest in life-saving heart services. Because of community support, patients benefit from advanced diagnostics, rapid coordination, and a care team that sees the person behind the chart.
This kind of care happens because people believe in a mission to serve with excellence and urgency. Every step of Stephen’s journey was touched by people who made his life a priority – including you, our donors.
“Everyone I encountered – the echo techs, the nurses, Dr. Keith – they were just incredible. I mean, it’s just unbelievable to get that kind of attention. Sometimes you feel like you’re a nuisance or in the way, but not there, not at Baptist Health Floyd. I never felt like anything other than important.”
The Dawn of a Healthier Tomorrow
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