James Preddy

When ER physician Dr. James Preddy, 53, got home from his shift one night from a local hospital, he had a lot on his mind. One of his patients who was expected to pass away did, and it was weighting heavy on his mind.

Dr. Preddy got into medicine to help people, and when he was unable to, it was a heavy burden for him to bear. A Las Vegas native and UNLV graduate, Dr. Preddy didn’t start out on the path to be a physician. After graduation he delivered pizzas, until one night a terrible car accident happened in front of him.

He pulled over, on his way home from work, and ran to the man who had pinned inside the vehicle. He held that man, Ben, in his arms, telling him to “breathe,” until the paramedics arrived. Dr. Preddy, “just” James then, wished he could help more at the scene. It was then that James vowed to go back to school and become a physician, so that he would never feel helpless in a moment like that again.

Fast forward 30 years and Dr. Preddy came home from his night shift in a local ER. He called out “hello” to his wife as he sat down on the edge of his bed. It had been a long, stressful, night. Dr. Preddy had brought his wife coffee and told her he didn’t feel well.

“That’s when my pinkies started hurting,” he said. “I knew something wasn’t right.”

Dr. Preddy drove back to work and took himself to the ER.

Labs showed Dr. Preddy was having a heart attack. He was taken to surgery immediately. He woke up in the ICU. The surgery had been successful, but his body was giving out. Dr. Preddy was proned (put on a position on his stomach) in a last effort to let his heart and body heal.

There were several occasions that it appeared the beloved ER doctor wasn’t going to make it.

“They were discussing how to not have my wife see me in that condition,” Dr. Preddy said.

But someone was able to visit him – Ben. The man that Dr. Preddy had held 30 years ago after the car accident and told him it was going to be alright. The pair had kept in touch over the years, and now it was Ben’s turn to be strong for his friend. He sat by Dr. Preddy’s bed, held his hand and told him that everything would be alright.

A couple weeks later, Dr. Preddy was well enough to be discharged, but he was weak from his ordeal and needed rehabilitation.

By the time Dr. Preddy arrived at MountainView Hospital’s Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit, he was unable to walk due to intense pain in his feet and legs.

“The first day, my PT Wendy just had me put a little weight on my toes,” he said.

The rehab team continued to work with Dr. Preddy, including using a machine called a LiteGait that assists in walking to help build strength. He also was one of the first patients to use MountainView’s virtual reality therapy program, meant to building skills in a fun an interactive way.

“Wendy was dedicated into getting me to do things I thought I couldn’t do,” Dr. Preddy said. “My wife was terrified I’d be unable to navigate the stairs in our multi-level house.”

Dr. Preddy said he credits his entire rehabilitation team, including Wendy, OT, Christian, PT, and Ron, PT, for helping him on the road to recovery.

“It’s nice to have hope,” he said. When I got here, I really was not hopeful.”

Little by little Dr. Preddy gained strength in his legs and on the day of discharge was going up and down stairs, in and out of simulated cars and walking on uneven surfaces with almost no use of a cane.

“I really want thank the whole PT staff for helping me out,” Dr. Preddy said. “I know doctors make the worst patients.”