{"id":13005,"date":"2026-04-24T17:20:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/?p=13005"},"modified":"2026-04-24T18:29:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T18:29:09","slug":"patient-testimonial-mary-tucker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/patient-testimonial-mary-tucker\/","title":{"rendered":"Patient Testimonial: Mary Tucker"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>After a two-week trip to London, I was four hours into my return flight when I began seeing flashing lights and a sudden surge of floaters in my right eye. Given my family history of retinal detachment \u2014 and knowing it can lead to blindness \u2014 I decided before we even landed in New York to cancel my connecting flight and go directly to the emergency room.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I chose Jamaica Hospital Medical Center near JFK Airport.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even at check-in, I was met with extraordinary kindness and empathy. In a busy ER, that level of warmth stood out. Within minutes, I was triaged, insurance processed, vitals taken, and escorted for an ocular sonogram. I waited less than 30 minutes before Dr. Eric Zhong, the ophthalmologist on duty, evaluated me thoroughly. He determined my retina was not detached and gave me clear guidance on monitoring symptoms.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The following day, just five minutes after boarding a rescheduled flight, my symptoms worsened.\u00a0I\u00a0immediately\u00a0deplaned and returned. The Jamaica Hospital EMTs were calm, skilled, and remarkably reassuring \u2014 the kind of competence that lowers your blood pressure the moment they enter the room.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Zhong was still on duty and recognized that the situation had evolved. Unable to immediately identify the cause, he brought in a colleague \u2014 not out of uncertainty, but out of commitment. They suspected a small retinal hole and ensured I had next-day specialist follow-up, which they personally arranged.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A\u00a0subsequent\u00a0specialist initially questioned the finding \u2014 but when I followed up at one of the top eye hospitals near my home, the diagnosis was confirmed. I had a retinal hole in one eye and an issue in the other. I went directly from the exam chair to laser surgery in both eyes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Jamaica Hospital team\u2019s diagnosis\u00a0was right\u00a0all along.\u00a0I was very satisfied with their level of care.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both of my ER visits were completed in just two to three hours \u2014\u00a0nearly unheard\u00a0of in emergency care. More importantly, the culture was unmistakable: collaborative, respectful, compassionate, and highly competent.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0just treat my eyes \u2014 they restored my confidence in what healthcare can look like at its best.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I am deeply grateful to the entire team.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page. You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter. PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.<\/strong> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a two-week trip to London, I was four hours into my return flight when I began seeing flashing lights and a sudden surge of floaters in my right eye. Given my family history of retinal detachment \u2014 and knowing … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,198,1,868,61,278,8,4],"tags":[722,281,2139,473],"class_list":["post-13005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-health","category-genetic-disease","category-health","category-jamaica-hospital","category-lifestyle","category-ophthalmology","category-surgery","category-womens-health","tag-health","tag-ophthalmology","tag-patient-testimonial","tag-womens-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13005"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13012,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13005\/revisions\/13012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}