Woman credits UH doctor found on Zocdoc for saving her husband's life

Dawn Thuma of Parma Heights told her husband David, 57, he better get to an emergency room because he wasn’t feeling well. Dawn had a right to be concerned because he had been treated for throat cancer and had completed his radiation treatment in March 2015.

“I was reluctant to go the ER,” said David. “I had been through so much I thought it was side effects of radiation and didn’t want to go through any more testing. I was just so tired.”

They also had a dilemma because Dawn had recently changed employers and their new insurance meant having to find a new primary care doctor.

She had rejoined Seasons of Life Hospice Center at University Hospitals Parma Medical Center. She remembered seeing information about UH’s new partnership with Zocdoc, a free online medical care search engine and scheduling service.

“I downloaded the Zocdoc app and found Dr. Thomas, read his profile and saw that he was close by. It was so easy. With a click of the finger, I got David the first available appointment the next day.” She also was able to fill out his paper work online so all David needed to do was go to the doctor’s office.

David wanted to go to the appointment by himself so Dawn wouldn’t have to miss work.

The doctor they found was David Thomas, MD, with the UH Internal Medicine Center, a practice in Independence, Ohio.

“I knew that David was recovering from cancer,” said Dr. Thomas. “He complained that his abdomen had been hurting. I had him lie down on the exam table and I pressed on his abdomen and he jumped from the pain.”

“I sent him to get a stat CT scan at UH Parma Medical Center,” said Dr. Thomas.

The scan revealed that he had a perforated, gangrenous appendix – something that could kill him.

“Dr. Thomas saved my husband’s life,” said Dawn, who also became one of Dr. Thomas’ patient. “I can’t say how grateful I am.”

David said, “I’m doing very well now thanks to some quick medical decision-making by Dr. Thomas. He really took his time going over my history during my examination. He also called me at home just to see how I was after surgery. That’s going above and beyond!

“I’m also grateful for Zocdoc and my wife’s knowledge about the app. I’m sure I would not have found Dr. Thomas, let alone have gotten an appointment so quickly,” he said.

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About University Hospitals

Founded in May 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of 18 hospitals, more than 40 outpatient health centers and primary care physician offices in 15 counties throughout Northeast Ohio. At the core of our $4 billion health system is University Hospitals Case Medical Center, ranked among America’s best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. The primary affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, UH Case Medical Center is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs in the nation, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopaedics, radiology, neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, digestive health, transplantation and genetics. Its main campus includes UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation; UH MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University. UH is the second largest employer in Northeast Ohio with 26,000 employees. For more information, go to www.UHhospitals.org.