Local Businesswoman Ranks South Central Highly

Faced with a New Challenge
Today she and husband Bob Hobbs share their phenomenal business success through civic involvement and generous support of education and other community activities. But, in February 2002, Kim was faced with a new challenge—an accident brought her face-to-face with the local medical community after she had enjoyed a lifetime of health and vitality. Maintaining a busy, active lifestyle away from the dealership, Kim and Bob were indulging in one of their favorite pastimes on a Sunday afternoon—riding “quads”—four-wheelers—in Waynesboro on an employee’s land.

“We were riding and I was going too fast,” she explains. “I missed a curve and ran into a tree. I broke my femur and hit my head. So, when my husband and friends were trying to lift me, they were more worried about my head than my leg. I hit my head pretty hard, and I wasn’t wearing a helmet. By the way, I now own and wear a helmet.”

“When I asked them to help me get up, I was told that I couldn’t move. They placed me in a vehicle and we headed toward South Central. During the ride, I joked, ‘I’m not in that much pain,’ but I think that it was my mind telling me, ‘This isn’t happening.’

“Our friends called an ambulance, which was waiting for us at one of the catfish places, but I didn’t want to be moved into the ambulance. The driver called my name and told me to look at him. Since I had hit my head so hard, I think that he was checking my eyes. Anyway, I refused to be moved into the ambulance. I told them to just get me there, so the ambulance escorted us into town to the hospital.”

Arrival at South Central—Things Get Blurry
Kim remembers arriving at South Central Regional Medical Center, being transferred to a gurney, then rushed right into the Emergency Department.

“After that,” she continues, “things started getting blurry because so much was happening at once…head scans…X-rays…friends who had heard about the accident and rushed to the hospital, since I had no family here. I do remember joking with a nurse during a head scan that there was nothing up there to be hurt. Next, I started asking my husband and friends what was going to happen. When I heard the word ‘surgery,’ I panicked. I’d never been in a hospital before—no stitches or broken bones before. I’ve been very fortunate my whole life.”

“Then, I became very practical. I announced that I couldn’t have surgery, since I had to do a commercial in two days. But the staff at the hospital continued to be very kind and friendly and tried to make sure I was comfortable. They informed me that I was going into surgery and that a tube would be put down my throat. I didn’t like the sound of that, but they reassured me that I would be fine and that I wouldn’t know a thing that was happening.”

“Dr. Ross Ward of the Laurel Bone and Joint Clinic came in, explained what they were going to do, and told me that I was going to be just fine. I remember then that they wheeled me down and gave me a shot. When I woke up, I saw a bright light and thought that I was still waiting to go into surgery. A nurse asked how I was feeling and smiled when I asked how long before they took me to surgery. You’re through already…you’re done.

‘You guys are wonderful. I didn’t feel anything. It was great,’ I told her. Then she took me to my room where my husband was waiting.”

Kim recalls that she didn’t sleep very well that first night though she wasn’t in any pain and her husband stayed in her room. A nurse came to check her vital signs periodically and to apply medication to her badly scraped face. At one point, Kim asked for a mirror. However, the nurse suggested she might not want to look just yet, but wait until morning.

“She brought a mirror the next morning, all the while assuring me that I would be fine and she kept putting the medicine on my face. Everybody at South Central was so kind,” she says, “from the time I arrived at the hospital around 4:30 p.m. until I was wheeled to my room about 10 p.m. that Sunday night. And everyone continued to be just wonderful throughout my stay.”

No Need to Travel for Great Treatment
After a thoughtful pause, Kim added that her husband had had some initial concerns when their companions recommended that they take her outside the area for treatment. However, since Laurel was the closest place to the site of her accident, Bob decided that he was taking her to South Central.

“That night in my room,” she says, “I wondered why people would say to bypass the local area. I was treated so well in every respect, and my physician was excellent.” Kim awakened the next morning to a huge, swollen leg since she had lost a great deal of blood due to internal bleeding after the accident. Dr. Ross Ward came by on rounds and announced his intention to have her down in physical therapy in the afternoon to begin walking. Kim declared, “What! I can’t even sit up, much less walk.”

Giving Her All—In Rehabilitation
After reassurances that she could do it, she was taken to physical therapy. “When the guys came to my room to move me, I was scared to death. But they were so friendly and comforting that I did try. And they were so gentle and cautious with me when they lifted me into place that first time. It really hurt, but I knew that it was one of those things that I would have to do. On my second visit, they put me on a walker. Then, by the next morning, I was on crutches. The doctor released me on Tuesday afternoon, and I went home,” she says. Continuing her recovery under Dr. Ward’s supervision, Kim returned to work at her busy dealership.

“Dr. Ward knew that I was working hard and pushing myself to regain full use of my leg,” she says. She was anxious to get back to work, so she gave it her all in outpatient rehabilitation. Laughing, Kim recalls that Dr. Ward’s nurse told her that, years ago, patients had to stay in traction for 12 weeks after having a rod implanted, and she replied, “That wouldn’t have worked. You would have had to wheel my hospital bed in the showroom at the dealership and I’d be making deals!”

Back to Her Active Lifestyle
Today, Kim and Bob have resumed their active lifestyle of work, travel, exercise, and outdoor sports. She still enjoys four-wheeling and recently reported jogging 22 minutes around her neighborhood. Although she still favors the broken leg, that tendency also lessens with time. Through determination, hard work, and her upbeat sense of humor, Kim once again enjoys vibrant good health.

And if anyone recommends bypassing Laurel for medical care now, Kim Shottenkirk Hobbs quickly corrects them. She knows firsthand about South Central and the excellent treatment they provide right here in Laurel.

After all, this “No Bull” businesswoman of the Pine Belt knows good service when she experiences it.

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