It had all happened so fast—as slips, trips and falls do.
It was mid-December in 2020, right before the holidays. Dr. Letricia King-Brown, 62, was returning home from a festive holiday excursion with her friend, Monica Parker.
The two friends had been shopping for gifts for the annual Christmas giveaway at the Kingdom Ministries Church, where King-Brown is Pastor. Each year, as part of the holiday festivities, some children in the congregation are selected by the church to receive toys and clothes.
During the friends’ outing, King-Brown had also purchased gifts for her pre-kindergarten students at the Newport News public school district, where she had been a teacher’s assistant for more than 18 years.
King-Brown had an armful of toys and clothes as she stepped into her home. “I was so excited about the surprises for the children,” she said. “But when I walked from my mudroom toward the kitchen, my shoes stuck to the foam doormat that was placed near the kitchen entryway. As I stepped forward, I lost my balance.”
“I could feel myself falling and grabbed the kitchen chair, which broke my fall to some extent,” she said. “But by then, I knew I was headed for the floor.” She heard a loud crunch as her knee hit the ceramic tile in her kitchen. The pain was horrific. She couldn’t find her cell phone to call for help. Apparently, she had left her cell phone in Parker’s car. She panicked and thought: What can I do?
She yelled out to her friend, who had already left the house. King-Brown wasn’t even sure that she could be heard. In fact, Parker did not know what had happened and was getting into her car, about to drive away. By some miracle—and without knowing what had happened to her friend—Parker had found King-Brown’s cell phone and was on her way back into the house to return it.
Parker had no idea what she was about to discover. Her friend was lying on the floor in great pain. King-Brown cried out: My leg is broken. Dial 911 for me!
When Parker telephoned the emergency number and handed her friend the phone, King-Brown said to the representative, “Please send an ambulance. I have broken my leg, and I want to go to the Emergency Room at Riverside,” Do not send me anywhere else. It MUST be Riverside!”
For King-Brown, her healthcare had always been at Riverside—and nowhere else but Riverside. That had been true for more than 30 years. Once she knew she was headed there, she was confident that she’d be in good hands.
Why Riverside?
King-Brown’s fierce allegiance to Riverside began in 1990, when she moved to Newport News from Mississippi. “I was brand new in the area when my son Joshua broke his leg in a bicycle accident. “We ended up in the emergency room where I was helped by some of the nicest, kindest, most caring medical professionals I had ever encountered. I was a new mom, and the folks at Riverside walked me through everything and made sure my son was well taken care of.”
“Joshua is now 35 years old, but I never forgot that first encounter and how much it meant to me,” she said. “And that kind of service wasn’t a one-time experience. I have been well-served by Riverside Health for over 30 years—for my eyes, my diabetes, my primary care visits, my bloodwork and testing, my gynecological care, and most recently, the treatment and rehabilitation of my knee.”
Experience and Treatment After the Fall
It took an hour for the ambulance to arrive and deliver King-Brown to Riverside’s Emergency Room. Things were very busy in the ER because of COVID. The emergency room was packed, and the hospital caregivers were working around the clock. “Despite the strain that the staff was under, I received the absolute best care. I was treated with dignity and kindness, and the doctors and nurses spent time to help me through the trauma of my fall,” she said.
“I’ll never forget when Orthopedic Trauma Surgeon Dr. David M. Romano came to speak to me at my bedside in the emergency room,” she said. “I was so reassured by his competence and his manner. Despite the number of patients and the pace of things in the ER, he took the time to explain my condition and what was ahead. He was honest and straightforward, which I appreciated.”
“Since my knee was crushed and severely damaged, he explained there might be plates, screws or hardware involved when I was operated on. He told me he would have to open my knee first to see what was happening,” said King-Brown.
Dr. Romano reassured me by saying decisively: I want you to know that I will fix your knee. “From that point on, I had complete confidence that I was in the right hands, and I was going to receive the absolute best care.”
King-Brown spent the night and the next day in the hospital. When it came time for her surgery, Dr. Romano came to her bedside, smiled, and reassured her. “I was given anesthesia, and the next thing I remember is that I asked: When will I be operated on? The nurse smiled and told me that I had already had my operation and was ready to begin my road to total recovery. I asked if any plates, screws or hardware were involved. The answer surprised me. Dr. Romano had rescued my knee through meticulous surgical repair. No hardware!”
The Road to Recovery
To this day, King-Brown is not 100 percent sure about the exact details of her fall. “I know one thing, though,” she says. “I had fallen on one knee only. If it had not been for me catching the kitchen chair, it would have been both knees instead of one.
King-Brown’s rehabilitation was challenging. There were times over the next year or so that she became discouraged, but Dr. Romano and the Riverside staff reassured her that her responses were normal and to be expected, given the trauma her body had been through.
“I never experienced any negative side effects, such as infections or blood clots, during the entire process,” she said. “Riverside kept my spirits up and my faith strong. I knew that I was recovering, day by day, and in increments.”
“I had three different braces throughout my follow-up treatment and physical therapy,” King-Brown reported. “I opted to do my entire rehabilitation through Riverside. Between the excellent care I received from Riverside—and the around-the-clock help and support of my two sons and my church family—I recovered. I now have a 90-degree range of motion in my knee. I can drive. I can walk up and down stairs,” she revealed.
King-Brown keeps in mind all the Riverside people who helped her in her long journey of recovery. “These people have worked so hard during COVID. They have families. They are dealing with the same fears and concerns for personal safety as their patients are. Yet they continue to give 200 percent of themselves every day,” she said.
One Year Later
Although King-Brown recovered, she was not able to return to her demanding position as a Pre-K teacher’s assistant. “There’s a lot of walking and physical activity involved,” she revealed. “However, many good things have come from my challenges. Thanks to Riverside, I was able to continue my ministry at Kingdom Ministries Church.”
“I just propped up my leg during my virtual sermons and continued to serve my congregation. Our membership didn’t decline like so many other churches. We continue to grow. Also, in June 2020, our church started a new magazine called ‘Kingdom Living Magazine,’ which is published four times a year.”
“In our magazine, we have a ‘hero’ feature. Dr. Romano is among the first heroes I plan to feature. I am so grateful for all the help and support I have received from Dr. Romano and the caregivers at Riverside,” said King-Brown.
“All of Riverside’s physicians and professionals have affected my life profoundly. I consider Riverside my home. It feels like home to be there. I even visit their wonderful cafeteria for lunch—they have the best food—and I buy gifts regularly in the Riverside gift shop! I recommend it to anyone reading this article!”
About the Interviewee: In 2013, Letricia King-Brown, Pastor of Kingdom Ministries Church, was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Divinity and Theology by the International Apostolic University of Grace and Truth for her unique ability to communicate with profound understanding and clarity.
