Cowboy recovers from kidney cancer
Armando Galindo, 62, is a professional cowboy. He loves to spend time on his ranch riding horses and traveling as an ambassador for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. In December, just before the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, Galindo ended up in the emergency room at Methodist Hospital | Specialty and Transplant with severe pain on the right side of his back.
“I told them, if you don’t know anything about cowboys, when they go to the hospital, something is really wrong,” said Galindo. “I was in unbearable pain.”
Doctors found a mass on Galindo’s kidney that needed to be removed immediately. The surgical team performed robotic surgery to remove the tumor without having to remove the organ.
“The CT scan showed a 3 ½ centimeter mass on his right kidney,” said Dr. William Harmon, board-certified Urologist at Methodist Hospital | Specialty and Transplant. “We have the newest generation of the da Vinci XI robot in the hospital, which allowed us to do a partial nephrectomy. That means instead of removing his right kidney, we could remove the mass and leave 90 percent of the kidney.”
Dr. Harmon said the mass was kidney cancer, and Galindo is now living cancer-free.
“If it hadn’t been for your doctors, I wouldn’t be here today,” said Galindo. “They assured me I would be alright.”
Galindo said at the time, he was not happy about being in the hospital, but one person helped turn things around for him.
“The whole staff was very caring. Their bedside manner was outstanding. There was one nurse in particular who really showed some compassion,” said Galindo.
That nurse was Karina Cuellar. Galindo said she took extra time to talk with him, even held his hand for a while to make sure he knew she cared.
“That really touched my heart,” said Galindo. “I had a very bad day, and this young lady took a few minutes to show compassion. It wasn’t just her job. It came from the heart.”
Cuellar was assigned to Galindo during all three of her shifts that week. She said he recovered and went home before she returned to work the following week.
"When I took care of him, he was very sick. I was very hopeful he would recover and be able to go home soon," said Karina Cuellar, RN, at Specialty and Transplant. “I feel like family here. This has definitely felt like the hospital that cares for patients how I care for patients.”
Galindo wanted the staff to know he appreciates the life-saving care he received. He said they changed his mind about hospitals.