Carrie Chizek

This past December, Carrie Chizek, the preschool teacher at Building Blocks Learning Center and a Youth Development Professional at The Boys and Girls Club of Carbon County, started having abdominal pain. During the next few weeks, the pain became so intense that Carrie finally went to the Emergency Room at Memorial Hospital of Carbon County.

Dr. Gregory Johnson, the emergency room physician on duty, ordered blood work, a urine sample, and then an MRI. It revealed that Carrie had a massive tumor, the size of a volleyball, attached to one of her ovaries. Fortunately, the growth was not cancerous. Dr. Charles Cunningham, a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist removed the tumor, with Joe Skinner, CRNA, performing the anesthesiology.

“Some of my friends and family suggested I go to Casper or Cheyenne for the surgery,” Carrie says. “But after meeting Dr. Cunningham, I felt really comfortable with him being my surgeon. He’s humble, knowledgeable and confident. And a nurse I knew from church had some really positive things to say about him.”

Following surgery, Carrie spent three nights at the hospital. “The care I received was awesome,” she says. “Dr. Johnson, Dr. Cunningham and Joe Skinner are three of the best medical professionals I’ve ever met. They’re top notch, and you can tell they really care. Our community is blessed to have them.”