Nat Wilson

Nat was home with the kids when he started feeling sick. His wife Martha was traveling. 

“I thought it was stomach flu,” Nat says. He stayed home from work; the kids rustled up their own dinner.  

Then in the night, Nat’s vomiting intensified. His gut pain got worse and zeroed in on one spot: his appendix. 

In the morning, Nat made an appointment with Dr. Adam Ailabouni, his primary care provider. Nat dropped the kids off at school and went to the Northfield Clinic. There, a CT scan showed a lot of inflammation in Nat’s abdomen. His appendix had burst. 

Nat was in surgery within hours.  

“I didn’t know it would unfold that quickly,” Nat says. “I called some friends to pick up the kids at school and take care of them.” Martha flew back while he was in surgery.  

The ruptured appendix had spread infection throughout Nat’s abdomen. “They said it was a real mess in there,” Nat recalls. Surgeon Ellie Cohen, MD removed it all. Nat spent 3 days in the hospital recovering. Martha, with the help of friends, managed kids and school and work while Nat recuperated. 

“It was huge to be able to get care close to home where our support circle is,” Nat says. “Having a really good hospital right here makes a huge difference.”  

Nat appreciates NH+C’s team approach to care: “They do a great job working together to make sure everyone knows about all the different pieces that go into that person’s care. That’s important to me.” 

Nat could have gone to Urgent Care or the Emergency Department but tried the clinic first because the pain lessened when his appendix burst. “I felt somewhat better,” he says. “I wasn’t sure how serious it was.”  

He’s grateful to the clinic staff who got him in to see Dr. Ailabouni right away. “I didn’t know what was happening and didn’t know it was an emergency type of situation. I called the clinic right when it opened and when I described the situation, they recommended that I come in right away.” He’s glad he did. 

“To be able to get in that morning, get a scan, have surgery – and get the kids to school and get them covered for care? That took some serendipity, and also good choices on the part of the clinic staff.” 

Nat says the hospital nurses who cared for him during and after surgery are “just dynamite. They woke me up way too often,” he laughs, “to make sure I was progressing. But I’m really happy with how everything unfolded. 

“We have had consistently good experiences at NH+C, including the births of our two children, three different surgeries, and primary clinic care,” Nat adds. “The quality of care is excellent.” 

Day or night.