On April 1, 2014, Dr. Jim Tidwell joined the plastic surgery team at Owensboro Health. Five years to the day, after many successes and a devastating cervical spine injury that nearly left him completely paralyzed, Tidwell will be returning to work. While minimal strength in his hands has prevented him from returning to surgery, Tidwell will be returning to a new position Monday as the vice president for population health with Owensboro Health Medical Group.
Tidwell’s new role is designed with the hopes that he will utilize his talents and compassion to “make life better for people that are less fortunate.”
“It’s a lofty and daunting mission that we have,” Tidwell said. “Our mission is not only to heal the sick, but to improve the health of our community.”
In anticipation of his return, a surprise reception was held in his honor Thursday morning on the surgery floor of Owensboro Health Regional Hospital. But it was not Tidwell who was most surprised by the reception, his return was kept a secret from the staff.
One-by-one, medical and surgical staff entered the room to offer greetings and warm wishes to the surgeon they admired, but had been out of their presence for the last seven months.
“A lot of people with this injury don’t have this support,” Tidwell said.
President and CEO of Owensboro Health Greg Strahan, was one of the first to visit Tidwell in the ICU after his injury, and assured him that there would always be a position for him when he was ready and able to return.
“When he first got hurt, it was hard for us to imagine that he wouldn’t be able to do maybe the things that he loved to do,” Strahan said. “But what he loved to do was take care of patients — and you can do that in a number of ways. Jim’s role for me was pretty clear, knowing that, there is always a good place to find and use somebody that has that kind of talent, especially when they have a lot of heart. It’s a huge opportunity for us to have somebody that will take that role of population health.”
Tidwell’s longtime friend and residency fellow, Dr. Zach Barnes, will also be starting a new position on Monday. Barnes will be joining Drs. Ben and Janae Kittinger in the plastic and reconstructive surgery practice, reuniting the group of four from plastic surgery residency in Texas. Shortly after he learned of Tidwell’s injury, Barnes realized how busy the surgical group was and how much they needed help.
“You really just couldn’t ask for more real, totally transparent, upfront people,” Barnes said. “I always really enjoyed our time. Residency was pretty rough — the only thing that made it great was these people you could totally count on. I miss that comradery.”
Another person that will be experiencing transition Monday, is Tidwell’s wife of 20 years, Jenny, who is hopeful about Jim’s return to the hospital.
“I think that it will be good for him,” Jenny said. “The hospital has been so good to him and told him to take it at his pace.”
Since his injury, that is exactly what Jim and Jenny have done. After traveling to Atlanta and Louisville to seek specialists and receive therapy, the couple returned home. Thanks in large part to friends and family members, a wheelchair ramp was built at the Tidwell’s home, and the ground floor bedroom was renovated to accommodate his chair.
While Jenny said assisting Jim can be a physical task, it has never been a burden to her at all. However, there are moments where he still experiences nerve pain in the area below his chest that he can no longer utilize.
“It’s been tough, but not for those reasons,” Jenny said. “I don’t mind doing those things for him at all. Just watching him struggle is what’s been hard. You want to do something and there’s really not anything you can do.”
As for Jim’s hands, which once appeared to be his strongest asset, Jenny said he has made great improvement, and has always been able to feed himself. Jim can now type, write and sign paperwork again.
“His hands did not change that much until he started therapy at Frazier Rehab Institute in Louisville,” Jenny said. “They used a lot of electrical stimulation in his arms and hands to get them moving again. I am just amazed at what he can do with very little function — he had very skilled hands before. I think that made a difference.”
Because Jim now requires the daily use of a wheelchair, not only was a position secured for Jim on the administrative floor, but all of the office and meeting room doors will be equipped with automatic doors that will open when his chair rolls up to enter. Strahan said, going forward, anything that Jim needs, the hospital will accommodate.
“It feels really good to be back,” Tidwell said. “It’s a special place to work.”
Read the original story about Dr. Tidwell’s injury and steps to recovery here.
