"I trained to be a neurosurgeon after my mum was left quadriplegic when she was shot at by gang members"
- 10 months ago
A woman trained as a neurosurgeon after her mum was left quadriplegic after being shot at by a gang member.
Dr Betsy Grunch, 43, was inspired to train as a brain and spinal cord surgeon after an horrific incident left her mum, Betty Uriegas, 63, paralysed from the neck down.
In 1994, Betty Uriegas was 34 and working as a police officer. She was attending to the scene of a reported ‘suspicious vehicle’ on Atlanta Highway when her patrol car was shot at.
Attempting to evade the bullets, Betty swerved suddenly, causing her to hit a tree with her car’s roll bar snapping her neck.
The suspect responsible for the shooting was never identified.
Daughter Betsy was just 14 at the time and vowed to study to become a surgeon to help people like her mum.
She trained to become a neurosurgeon for 15 years and now works at northeast Georgia Medical Centre.
Besty - who lives with her partner, Ray, 48, a private investigator in the corporate security sector, and their children Riley, eight, and Beatrice, five - from Gainesville, Georgia, US, said: “My mum was a police officer injured in the line of duty.
"It was extremely difficult in the beginning.
"My mum was very athletic prior to the accident, so the transition was tough.
"Seeing my mother not be able to do the things that brought her so much joy motivated me to find a way to help her, which is what led me on this career path.
Betsy says there were lapses in her mum's nurse care, so her and her step-father had to "fill in the gaps."
After the accident while Betsy was still in High School, she trained to become a certified nursing assistant.
This allowed her to better assist with her mum's daily activities, helping her to eat, go to the bathroom, and wash herself.
Betsy recalled the terrible moment she found out what had happened to her mum.
“I’ll never forget waking up,” the mum-of-two said.
“I was supposed to go softball practice when I was told mum was never going to walk again - it was very traumatic.”
During her mum’s recovery, Betsy would frequently go to rehab with her and learnt how to take care of her.
She became enamoured with the healthcare professionals providing care to her mum and asked to shadow the surgeon over the summer.
Betsy was hooked and even got a peak into the operating theatre.
She eventually went to medical school at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Georgia, US - before specialising in neurological surgery at Duke University in North Carolina, US, which she graduated from in 2013.
“The best thing about it is being able to intervene in someone’s health and make a life-changing difference," she said.
“I have also worked at a trauma centre and have seen a lot of horrible things.
“Dealing with death and mortality is hard.
“It’s easy to become cold about it. I really try my best to connect with patients and explain things on a level they understand.
“I have to remember that I have to go home too and try not to carry emotional baggage form work home with me.
Dr Betsy Grunch, 43, was inspired to train as a brain and spinal cord surgeon after an horrific incident left her mum, Betty Uriegas, 63, paralysed from the neck down.
In 1994, Betty Uriegas was 34 and working as a police officer. She was attending to the scene of a reported ‘suspicious vehicle’ on Atlanta Highway when her patrol car was shot at.
Attempting to evade the bullets, Betty swerved suddenly, causing her to hit a tree with her car’s roll bar snapping her neck.
The suspect responsible for the shooting was never identified.
Daughter Betsy was just 14 at the time and vowed to study to become a surgeon to help people like her mum.
She trained to become a neurosurgeon for 15 years and now works at northeast Georgia Medical Centre.
Besty - who lives with her partner, Ray, 48, a private investigator in the corporate security sector, and their children Riley, eight, and Beatrice, five - from Gainesville, Georgia, US, said: “My mum was a police officer injured in the line of duty.
"It was extremely difficult in the beginning.
"My mum was very athletic prior to the accident, so the transition was tough.
"Seeing my mother not be able to do the things that brought her so much joy motivated me to find a way to help her, which is what led me on this career path.
Betsy says there were lapses in her mum's nurse care, so her and her step-father had to "fill in the gaps."
After the accident while Betsy was still in High School, she trained to become a certified nursing assistant.
This allowed her to better assist with her mum's daily activities, helping her to eat, go to the bathroom, and wash herself.
Betsy recalled the terrible moment she found out what had happened to her mum.
“I’ll never forget waking up,” the mum-of-two said.
“I was supposed to go softball practice when I was told mum was never going to walk again - it was very traumatic.”
During her mum’s recovery, Betsy would frequently go to rehab with her and learnt how to take care of her.
She became enamoured with the healthcare professionals providing care to her mum and asked to shadow the surgeon over the summer.
Betsy was hooked and even got a peak into the operating theatre.
She eventually went to medical school at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Georgia, US - before specialising in neurological surgery at Duke University in North Carolina, US, which she graduated from in 2013.
“The best thing about it is being able to intervene in someone’s health and make a life-changing difference," she said.
“I have also worked at a trauma centre and have seen a lot of horrible things.
“Dealing with death and mortality is hard.
“It’s easy to become cold about it. I really try my best to connect with patients and explain things on a level they understand.
“I have to remember that I have to go home too and try not to carry emotional baggage form work home with me.