Dr. Millie Lee, MD

Back in 2011, I’d had a stent put in but a month later was in church and kept feeling like I was going to pass out. Ambulance was called and I was taken to Hampton Sentara and kept overnight Bloodwork indicated I wasn’t having a heart attack so the hospitality was going to release me without tests to determine what was causing the incidents. I don’t know if Dr. Lee recognized my name on the chart or my face in passing my room but she came in, sat on my bed, and asked why I was there. She felt it would be unwise for me to go home without confirming there was no problem with the stent so a catherization was immediately scheduled. As luck would have it, my heart stopped in the middle of the procedure. At the same time I told her I didn’t feel well (sudden difficulty breathing, fluid in chest) she was already slipping in a temporary pacemaker. I felt fine immediately. My heart would never start again but the pacemaker kept me alive until a permanent one could be implanted several… days later. Had I been sent home by that interns list, I’d be dead. Dr. Lee has given me 10 more years and hopefully more to come. I’ve welcomed grand babies, attended graduations, traveled, read more books and worked more puzzles. I continue to live my wonderful life because she wanted to be sure I was okay rather than allowing me to be sent home simply because I “hadn’t had a heart attack. Don’t know why the memory came to me today but it’s never too late to say “Thank you”. So, Dr. Lee, thank you for my life, I think I’ve used it well and will continue to do so in the days or years ahead. (I’m leaving in a few days on a 14 day cruise through the Panama Canal, a lifelong dream. I’ll be sure and think of you as I pass through the locks.