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Dr. Bao Pham immediately recognized the former patient he had not seen in nearly a year. The last time Chris walked through those doors, he and his wife, Kim, had received shocking news: Chris had stage three colon cancer after weeks of worsening stomach pain and multiple doctor visits that left them increasingly worried something had been missed.

Now, nearly a year later and officially in remission, Chris returned to the emergency room carrying a glowing trophy engraved with the words “To An Amazing Doctor.”

“I think Dr. Pham saved my life,” Chris said.

Before arriving at Ally Medical ER Bastrop, Chris spent weeks trying to push through severe stomach pain while continuing to work and maintain his normal routine. Like many people, he hoped the symptoms would eventually improve on their own. Instead, the pain only became harder to ignore.

After several doctor visits, Chris continued hearing the same explanation: colitis. He was prescribed antibiotics and sent home, but nothing seemed to improve. As the days passed, both Chris and Kim were left wondering why his condition continued getting worse and why they still did not have answers.

“Something is not right. Something is not right,” Kim remembered thinking. “At this time, we’d already seen several doctors, and they weren’t really giving us answers. I could see my husband was really sick.”

By the time Chris arrived at Ally Medical ER Bastrop, both he and Kim were physically and emotionally exhausted from searching for answers. Even during a busy day inside the emergency room, Kim said the staff made them feel cared for during one of the most difficult moments of their lives.

Dr. Pham listened carefully as Chris described his symptoms and recognized that something did not add up. Wanting to take a closer look, he ordered a CT scan, which revealed a large mass in Chris’s colon that was later confirmed to be stage three colon cancer.

Chris was quickly admitted to the hospital, where he underwent surgery to remove the tumor before beginning multiple rounds of chemotherapy.

“It was the worst I’ve ever felt in my whole life,” Chris said of the treatments, which left him exhausted, nauseous, and struggling to regain his strength.

Chris continued fighting through months of treatment and looked forward to a moment he had worked hard for. 

“I ring the bell on July 17,” he said.

For cancer patients, ringing the bell marks the end of treatment and the beginning of a new chapter. Today, Chris is in remission and has returned to work while continuing regular scans and follow-up appointments as doctors monitor his recovery.

Nearly a year after first arriving at the ER searching for answers, Chris returned to thank the doctor he believes changed the course of his life.

Standing once again inside the emergency room, Chris handed Dr. Pham the trophy he had carried in with him.

“He was shaking when I gave it to him,” Chris said. “I don’t think doctors always hear the outcome, so it really made his day.”

A trophy engraved with the words “To An Amazing Doctor” sits inside Ally Medical ER Bastrop after cancer survivor Chris Hill presented it to Dr. Bao Pham, thanking him for helping diagnose his stage 3 colon cancer.

For Kim, the experience left a lasting impression not only because of the diagnosis itself, but because of the compassion and attention they received throughout the process.

“You don’t find doctors like that,” Kim said. “Dr. Pham was more caring and more involved. He loves his job, and you can tell.”

Dr. Pham said moments like this are rare in emergency medicine, where physicians often never learn what happens to patients after they leave the ER.

“Seeing Chris walk back through those doors healthy and smiling was incredibly special,” Dr. Pham said. “The trophy was thoughtful, but the real gift was simply seeing him healthy and thriving.”

For Chris and Kim, returning to Ally Medical ER was never really about delivering a trophy. It was about returning to the place where someone finally stopped long enough to listen.