Patient, Her Mom, Thankful for Emergency Care

“I tell everybody that we got excellent treatment there, and we’ve recommended it to everybody.”

–Mary Kowalski

A card and two special plants from a little girl said it all for Mercy Hospital Grayling Emergency Department Physician Mark Gulow, DO.

“Some days you have bad days in the ER and you want to do something else,” Dr. Gulow said. “But when a little girl is bringing you flowers, why would you want to do something else?”

In early March the little girl, Emily Kowalski, then 5, arrived in the Emergency Department lethargic and in critical condition. Her mother, Mary Kowalski, said she and Emily had been at a funeral and after arriving home, Emily became very sick. She got progressively worse through the night.

Mary took Emily to the Emergency Room where Dr. Gulow ordered blood tests and consulted with Mercy Internal Medicine/Pediatrics specialist Jacques-Brett Burgess, MD. Lab tests confirmed Emily was suffering from diabetes.

“We basically made a rapid diagnosis and intervened with appropriate medications,” Dr. Gulow said. “She was pretty close to not making it.”

Mary Kowalski was thankful for the efforts of Emergency Department staff and Dr. Gulow on behalf of her daughter.

“He was very prompt,” she said. “As soon as he found out what was going on he followed up with me.”

After being stabilized, Emily was airlifted to DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids. There hospital staff and Dr. Gulow followed up by phone with Mary again.

Following her recovery, Emily, who is now under the treatment of a pediatric endocrinologist, and her mom went back to the Mercy Hospital Grayling Emergency Department. They wanted to share special thanks for the care they received at the hands of Dr. Gulow and Mercy staff.

“I tell everybody that we got excellent treatment there, and we’ve recommended it to everybody,” Mary Kowalski said.