“I'm so proud to be a strong supporter of Southwest Health!”
— Ronnie Wilkinson
This past September 30, Ronnie Wilkinson started having chest pains. “I
thought at first it was just acid reflux, which I’ve had before,”
says Ronnie. “But then I became nauseated and started sweating.”
When Ronnie told his wife, Pigeon, that his jaw was hurting, her response
was immediate and firm. “Get in the car,” said the retired
RN with 43 years of experience. “We’re going to the hospital—now!”
For both Ronnie and Pigeon, the decision to go to Southwest Health was
a nobrainer. “If you’re having chest pains and live around
here, you need to stay close to home.” Ronnie says. “Time
is critical when you‘re having a heart attack or stroke. And here
in McComb, we’re so fortunate to have the Cardiovascular Institute
at Southwest Health, which makes it the premier heart hospital in Mississippi.”
An EKG revealed Ronnie was having a mild heart attack. Dr. Christos Kasapis,
an interventional cardiology specialist, performed an angioplasty to open
Ronnie’s clogged artery with a mesh coil, also called a stent. Ronnie
then spent 48 hours in the hospital’s ICU. “The care I received
was excellent,” Ronnie says. “The nurses and staff were on
top of everything.”
Soon after his heart attack, Ronnie started cardiac rehab at Southwest
Health— three one-hour sessions each week for a period of 12 weeks.
“The staff really took care of me,” Ronnie says. “I
know I’m in good hands here. I just want people in our community
to stop and think about what a blessing it is to have a local hometown
hospital like ours.”