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6893_FND_Fall 2022 IMPACT_Newsletter_Report

HELP CANANDAIGUA MAN Relationships

Heal

for some tests. Later, Dr. Malins hand-picked a surgeon for Tom’s open-heart surgery. Afterward, he wanted Tom to get a carotid artery unblocked, so he sent him to a vascular surgeon in Newark. Now, Tom is rebuilding his strength and healing. “I’m very grateful,” Tom said. “I don’t know how I would have gotten through it. I don’t listen to everybody, but when I find somebody I really trust, then I’m very loyal to him.” Plus, Tom appreciates Dr. Malins’ entire team. “He’s got great people working for him,” Tom said. “I’m not the most cooperative guy in the world – not because I’m trying to be difficult but because I just forget things. They talk to me. They make me feel like I’m important to them. And Dr. Malins is right on top of things. It’s a very comforting thing for me. If he says it’s going to rain, I’m going to go get an umbrella. I take his word for everything.” “I’m very grateful”

Not only is Tom Zumbo grateful for the care he received through Rochester Regional Health, he’s thankful he has a cardiologist who’s always in his corner. “I’m not the world’s most trusting soul,” said Tom, who has developed a friendship over the years with Timothy J. Malins, MD, the director of Eastern Region Cardiac Services, Sands-Constellation Heart Institute. “I trust him completely. It’s certainly paid off for me.” The two met when Tom was referred to Dr. Malins’ office in Geneva, and they just hit it off. “He’s a big baseball fan and so am I,” Tom said. Plus, Dr. Malins had a different approach when talking to Tom about the lifestyle changes he needed to make. For years, doctors had told Tom to stop smoking or risk dying. “But Dr. Malins said if I quit smoking I could live to be 100… That was encouraging news to me. I quit right then. It took his approach to get me to that point. That kind of endeared me to him.” Last December, when Tom found himself unable to breathe or get answers at a nearby emergency room, he called Dr. Malins, who sent Tom to Clifton Springs Hospital & Clinic