Brenda Hiett never expected to spend this past Christmas season at Macon Community Hospital. But after experiencing a severe gallstone attack, she underwent surgery to remove her gallbladder on December 30.

Dr. Thomas Taylor, a board-certified general surgeon with Macon Community Hospital, performed the operation. Unfortunately, what was initially supposed to be a quick 20-30 minute procedure turned into a more complicated surgery. “My gallbladder had gone gangrene and was infected, with an abscess sending fluid into my stomach,” Brenda explains. “Dr. Taylor had to wash my stomach out, and the surgery ended up taking an hour and a half.”

Brenda stayed four days in the hospital to recover from the infection. “The staff was great, and the food was really good,” Brenda says. “Despite the complications, I never felt fearful about the surgery or my recovery.”

Brenda has deep ties to Macon County. For 45 years, she worked at North Central Telephone Coop, and today she is Assistant Director for the Macon County Community Chamber of Commerce. Her son Barry was also born in 1962 at Smith-Chitwood Hospital, which is now Macon Community Hospital. “I’ve always known we needed a hospital here in Macon County,” she says. “But when you personally have a medical emergency, it really hits home how comforting it is to have Macon Community Hospital right here, close to home, for all of us.”