On the morning Gary Nickel noticed a small blister on the bottom of his left foot, he did not know that in weeks he would be facing a serious infection and an amputation.

“I noticed my foot was getting a little red and puffy, but it wasn’t too alarming, so I really thought nothing about it,” says Gary. “Three weeks later, I woke up and the inside of my foot exploded basically overnight. It was just raw skin and my big toe was black.”

It happened so quickly. I was with my husband at his doctor’s appointment and stepped outside because I couldn’t catch my breath. My inhaler offered no relief. Suddenly, I felt myself sliding down the wall. Gasping for air, a passerby dialed 911 and I was transported by EMSA to the Hillcrest South Emergency Department.

Sherry Ervin knows what it takes to be at the bedside of a loved one in the hospital. Her husband, Gary, has heart disease and had his first open heart bypass surgery in 1999 at Hillcrest Medical Center. Now under the care of Oklahoma Heart Institute cardiologist Dr. Robert Smith, 17 years later, it was time for a second bypass surgery. They scheduled the procedure at Hillcrest South. “We’ve had so many experiences with Hillcrest South,” says Sherry. “The care we have received there has been absolutely phenomenal.”