‘They Saved Our Lives More Than Once’
In 2019, Bridget Phillips found herself in a wheelchair thousands of miles from home, with her dad pushing her through the bustling streets of London. She had flown overseas for a wedding in the U.K. when she became too sick and weak to walk.
Five years prior, Phillips was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) of the large intestine characterized by periodic flare-ups. The early years of her medical treatment in Boston were stippled with inconsistency. Doctors retired or left practices, bouncing Phillips from one gastroenterologist to another. Meanwhile, medications offered only fleeting relief.
As Phillips grappled with her condition, she also harbored dreams of starting a family. However, her journey to motherhood was complicated by medications that were unsafe for pregnancy.
After moving from Boston to Montpelier in 2016, Phillips’ care in Vermont was similarly erratic. Flare-ups left her increasingly debilitated. Living with chronic illness for years, Phillips says she “didn’t realize how bad it had gotten” by the time she found herself being wheeled around in London.
From London, Phillips rushed back home to Vermont and went straight to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC). There, she met Corey Siegel, MD, the section chief of gastroenterology and hepatology, and Michael Winter, MD, an IBD specialist and assistant professor of medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. After reviewing her bloodwork, Siegel and Winter both agreed she should be admitted.
“That was the first time that doctors had really expressed that level of concern for me,” Phillips says. “Dr. Siegel and Dr. Winter took one look at my case and said, ‘This is not sustainable.’”
Over the next 17 days, Phillips’ care team offered her a choice: either continue with increasingly ineffective treatments or undergo a total colectomy. Phillips opted for surgery.
“Bridget was determined to get better and carefully considered all her options,” Siegel shares. “While other medications for her ulcerative colitis were available, surgery was the most promising for her. This is never an easy decision for people living with ulcerative colitis, but many who choose surgery often wish they had done so sooner.”
“It was the best decision I ever made,” she says. “I went from being on ineffective medications with many side effects to no medications at all. My quality of life improved so much.”
A Tale of Two Surgeries
Surgery was only the first chapter of DHMC’s impact on Phillips’ life. Because her colectomy in 2019 did more than restore her health—it made starting a family possible.
When Phillips became pregnant in 2024, she instinctively returned to DHMC. “Even though it was an hour away, I knew I had to go to Dartmouth. Their advanced NICU and the team’s knowledge of my medical history made all the difference.”
Throughout her pregnancy, Phillips was under the watchful eyes of maternal-fetal medicine specialists, including Drs. Michelle Russell, Katherine Himes, and Rebecca Pschirrer. Together, they identified Phillips as being at medium-high risk for preeclampsia—a blood pressure condition in pregnancy that is potentially life-threatening for both mother and baby.
At 35 weeks, a routine check-up revealed rising blood pressure. Russell diagnosed Phillips with gestational hypertension and advised her to deliver early.
“She was so honest and direct, which I appreciated,” Phillips says. “It was nice to have someone be straight up and tell us the information we needed to make the decision [to deliver early].”
Once they did decide, Phillips and her husband were in a mad dash to prepare. “We went from having ten days to having one night [to prepare for the C-section]. Driving home, my husband was silent. We were like, ‘We’re having a baby tomorrow.’ We were setting up the diaper genie and doing all the things we thought we had more time for.”
A Rocky Start
On the morning of her delivery, Phillips’ urinalysis confirmed preeclampsia. “I felt so relieved they caught it,” she says. Lest fear ruin the moment, Phillips’ medical team said she could bring in her own music for the c-section. “We played Diana Ross’s ‘I’m Coming Out,’” she laughs. “What could have been a scary surgical environment turned into a really celebratory one.”
Baby Richard Ryan “Rocky” Phillips arrived at a healthy 6 pounds, 6 ounces. Although he had some initial trouble latching, the DHMC nursing team provided around-the-clock support, helping the new mother with pumping and bottle feeding. “We had no idea what we were doing, but the nurses were incredible. There’s even a team that cuddles your baby if you need to nap.”
Today, Rocky is thriving, and Phillips continues to reflect on the care that saved her life and brought her son safely into the world. “At some places, you’re just another case. At Dartmouth, they treat you as a whole person. Every time I go there, I feel comfortable and safe, knowing I’m getting the best care.”
To express her gratitude to the entire staff at DHMC, Phillips and her family made a generous donation to The Fund for Children’s Health through the Honor a Caregiver campaign. This gift will help fund the greatest needs at Dartmouth Health Children’s and support kids across northern New England who need and deserve world-class care. “For those caring for others, it might be just another Monday. But for patients, it’s the day—maybe the most momentous day of their lives. We will never forget the care we received. They saved our lives more than once.”
To learn more about the Honor a Caregiver program, please contact Cate Meno at Cate.Meno@hitchcock.org or (603) 646-5794. You can also leave your own tribute for a caregiver through our annual campaign here.
