Villager Dave Gardner believes The Villages Regional Hospital saved his life.
In 2004, he was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a form of blood cancer.
It was detected by his primary care physician during a routine blood test. Gardner was then referred to a hematologist in The Villages. He was later referred to the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.
He was Stage 1 for four years.
But everything changed in 2008 when the disease advanced.
He underwent chemotherapy from September 2008 to January 2009.
He was home for a week and woke up with a 105-degree fever.
He spent 40 days in intensive care at The Villages Regional Hospital, nine of those days in a coma.
“It’s at that point, I believe The Villages Hospital saved my life,” Gardner said.
Today, Gardner is the picture of health. He recently shot his age in golf.
He is vice chairman of The Villages Regional Hospital Auxiliary Foundation.
The foundation is reaching out to the community, seeking support for the $59 million hospital expansion which will add 100 beds to the hospital. Ground was broken Nov. 22 on the expansion which is expected to be completed in January 2015.
As The Villages continues to grow, the need for the hospital to grow along with it is critical, Gardner said.
“I hope people don’t have to go through what I went through to realize how important this hospital is,” he said.
