Three Words That Changed Everything

Barbara Deese never expected to find hope at a doctor’s office. When she first came to Lakeland Volunteers in Medicine, she was exhausted, overwhelmed, and struggling with serious health concerns that had left her feeling defeated. After multiple hospital visits, dangerously high blood pressure, and years of carrying emotional burdens on her own, Barbara said she felt like she had nowhere left to turn. But from the moment she walked through the doors at LVIM, something felt different.

Barbara remembers meeting Kari Simpson, APRN, for the first time after leaving the hospital feeling confused and discouraged. As Kari reviewed her records and listened to her story, Barbara said she could immediately tell she truly cared. “The look in her eyes was like a mom looking at their child going, ‘We’re going to fix this,’” Barbara shared.

Over the following months, Barbara became a regular patient at LVIM as the medical team worked carefully to stabilize her health and uncover the root causes of what she was experiencing. She received breathing treatments, allergy medications, an inhaler, nebulizer medication, and support through the LVIM Pharmacy, which helped ensure she could access the medications she needed without the burden of cost.

But for Barbara, the care she received went far beyond prescriptions and appointments.

One visit in particular changed everything. As Barbara prepared to leave an appointment feeling uncertain about her future, Kari looked at her and said three simple words: “You got this.” Barbara says those words became something she held onto every single day. “I lived by those three words for the last two years,” she said. “It made me so much stronger than I thought I could ever be.”

With encouragement from the LVIM team, Barbara slowly began rebuilding her life. She focused on her health, her sobriety, and her emotional healing. She shared that before coming to LVIM, she often felt invisible or judged in healthcare settings. At LVIM, she experienced something completely different.

“You walk in and everybody’s smiling at you,” Barbara said. “They make you feel like you’re the only person in the whole place. This place gives you hope. It gives you strength. It makes you think maybe I can do this.”

Today, Barbara says she is healthier, stronger, and more hopeful than she has been in years. She credits LVIM not only with helping improve her physical health, but with helping restore her confidence and sense of purpose.

“I didn’t think my life was worth it before I walked into this place,” Barbara shared. “Now I’m encouraged to go out and do better and share my story.”

Barbara’s journey is a powerful reminder that healthcare is about more than treating symptoms. Sometimes, healing begins with compassion, encouragement, and someone willing to say, “You got this.”