Doctor Walks a Mile in the Snow to Get to His Patients at Atlanta Children's Hospital

A dedicated Georgia doctor was not about to let snowy conditions stop him as he walked a mile to get to his patients at a local hospital last week.

Dr. Dean McKenzie, the chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, made the trek after roads in the area were inundated with snow and ice.

"When I heard that he walked, I immediately was like, ‘Of course he did,’” said Laura Beckwith, whose son is one of Dr. McKenzie's patients. “It exemplifies the type of person he is.”

The highly unusual snowfall in the region left roadways tough to navigate. In addition, local schools and non-essential government offices were shut down, but not hospitals.

Beckwith’s son, Madden, has congenital heart disease and Dr. McKenzie performed open heart surgery on him in December. Beckwith said she met the doctor at 28 weeks and something about him made her choose him as their physician.

“Something about his presence made us trust him with our son’s life,” Beckwith said. 

Beckwith posted a photo of Madden and Dr. McKenzie after hearing about his journey to work.

“When everyone else is calling out, he walked to work. It spoke volumes about his character,” Beckwith added.

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