When Jeff Hix experienced intense abdominal pain and vomiting last June, he immediately feared the worst. He has experienced a small bowel obstruction before. Despite being in significant discomfort, he drove himself to the Mercy Health — Marcum and Wallace Hospital emergency department.

“They put in a tube through my nose to relieve the obstruction, but they had to make sure it was in the right spot,” he says. “That’s where a portable X-ray came in handy.”

Because of donors’ generous gifts, Marcum and Wallace recently acquired a portable X-ray machine. Medical staff can take detailed images of a patient in their bed. For Jeff, that meant getting immediate imaging while still connected to IVs and monitoring equipment. Transporting him to an X-ray suite in his condition would have been a painful and risky process.

“It benefited me tremendously,” he says. “If you’re sick and vomiting, moving to another room for an X-ray is a big deal. But with the portable X-ray, they just rolled it in and took the image right there.”

The clear images confirmed the correct placement of the tube and helped doctors determine that surgery wasn’t needed. Jeff is grateful for donors who made the equipment possible.

“For a small town like ours to have such advanced tools like that means everything,” he says. “It’s not just about me — it’s about our families, our neighbors. Better equipment means better care for all of us.”