I am extremely thankful for the caring and expert team at Bronson
When I (recently) moved to Kalamazoo, I chose Ashley Conklin, NP as my PCP, and I am very glad that I did. During my new patient visit, Ashley felt my neck and found a thyroid nodule. I especially appreciated that she took the time to show me exactly where it was, and how it felt very clearly out of place. After blood work and an ultrasound, it was clear that I needed a biopsy. Ashley referred me directly to Dr. Stephen Wysong and his team.
In my experience, Dr. Wysong is exacting, meticulous, and very, very good at what he does. He talked me through every step of the biopsy, making sure that I understood what was happening and that any and all of my questions were answered. When the biopsy came back as malignant—positive for papillary thyroid cancer—he clearly explained next steps and we made a plan together. The clear thing to do was a thyroidectomy (surgically remove my thyroid.)
I was nervous on the morning of surgery, but my pre-op nurse Patti calmly guided me (and my mom) through each step, one step at a time. One simple phrase really grounded me: Patti stated clearly, “We have a really good team taking care of you this morning.” And she could not have been more right.
Dr. Robert Nicholson was my anesthesiologist, and he also exuded calm as he asked about my medical history and talked me through the plan for the procedure. I found our exchange to be both efficient and quite reassuring, significant in the waning moments before surgery was scheduled to start.
Once I was wheeled into the operating room, I was surprised by the number of people surrounding the table, each with clear tasks to accomplish and doing an exceptional job of communicating with me. I only remember a few minutes in that space, but I felt extremely taken care of.
Dr. Wysong wound up having me stay overnight in the hospital, which meant he had to come back on Saturday morning to get me discharged. He did so gladly, seemingly very happy to see me heading home.
I am extremely thankful for the caring and expert team at Bronson.
