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Neurosurgeon Treks 6 Miles to Perform Surgery

By Cheri Cheng | Update Date: Jan 31, 2014 10:06 AM EST

A neurosurgeon from Alabama has been named a hero after he trekked six miles in order to get to a hospital and perform surgery. The surgeon, Dr. Zenko Hrynkiw, was at the Brookwood Medical Center early Tuesday morning when he was called to perform an emergency brain surgery at another location, the Trinity Medical Center. Due to the snowstorm that iced the streets and caused a huge traffic lockdown, Dr. Hrynkiw, 62, could barely go anywhere with his car. Instead of blaming the snowstorm, Dr. Hrynkiw decided to walk all the way to the medical center.

 "I saw the cat scan. Again, they were able to text me the image and this man was going to die. He had a 90 percent chance of death," Dr. Hyrnkiw said according to local news, Alabama's 13. "Nurses and the ER physicians were also calling me, while I was walking; telling me he has deteriorated and he went into unconsciousness. He was dying so if he didn't have surgery he would be dead, and it's not going to happen on my shift."

According to the medical care professionals from Trinity, they were unsure where Dr. Hrynkiw was at some points during the day. One of the nurses, Steve Davis, who was in contact with the neurosurgeon, had called the police. Due to poor cell service, no one had come into contact with Dr. Hrynkiw for hours after the initial call asking him to perform surgery. Even though some people reported seeing Dr. Hrynkiw, no one could actually locate him.

"The cell service was bad so we were fading in and out," said Davis, who is a charge nurse in the neuro intensive care unit at Trinity, according to FOX News. "At one point, I heard him say, 'I'm walking.' "He finally called me and said, 'Where's the patient? What's the status?' He spoke to the family and went off to surgery."

The patient had suffered a traumatic brain injury and Dr. Hrynkiw is the only available brain surgeon for Trinity. Davis stated that without Dr. Hrynkiw, the patient would have most likely died. The patient is now recovering. Local news reported that Dr. Hrynkiw is an avid walker despite having bad knees.

"This just speaks volumes to the dedication of the man," Davis said. "When I saw him, all I could say is 'you are a good man.' "

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