Our Stories

Melanie Tromblee, a nurse in the operating room at Grand Strand Medical Center in South Carolina, built her career around caring for others. After 26 years as a CNA, she became a nurse in 2020. One evening after work, Melanie suddenly became the person who needed care when a deer struck her car on the drive home.

The accident left Melanie with an L4-L5 compression fracture that required back surgery and temporarily caused her to lose motor function and sensation in her hands and arms. Unable to work as she relearned everyday tasks, she faced nearly six months of recovery while household and medical bills continued to mount. Melanie described the financial pressure as feeling like she was drowning.

Melanie knew about the HCA Healthcare Hope Fund, but she hesitated to apply because she worried another colleague might need the assistance more. She filled out the application and deleted it five times before finally submitting it. It wasn’t long before she learned she had been approved. The assistance helped cover two months of her mortgage and three months of car payments, giving her room to breathe while she recovered.

‘The Hope Fund took that feeling of drowning away,’ Melanie said. ‘It made me feel like I could actually breathe again.’ Today, Melanie is back in the operating room and contributing to the Hope Fund herself. She wants colleagues to know that if they are in a time of need, the Hope Fund is there for them.