Children’s chief of cardiothoracic surgery braves snow and ice to get to work

With winter weather hitting Atlanta hard this week, effectively shutting down parts of the city, some roads were too dangerous to drive on. That didn't stop Children's Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery Dr. McKenzie who walked a mile through snow and ice to get to work.

In a touching Facebook post last night, Children’s thanked all of the dedicated men and women who showed up, despite tough commutes, and made it possible to continue with surgeries, procedures and exams. The post has already been liked more than 14,000 times, with hundreds commenting and praising staff.

READ: Roads refreeze, travel still dangerous

It is estimated about 250 staff members spent the night at Children’s Scottish Rite location on Tuesday night along with more than 150 staff members staying over at Egleston location.

Children’s provided more powerful stories of determined staff, and acts of kindness to help employees get to work:

-- A Children’s flight nurse, Julie Vitoria, lives in Snellville and was stuck in a ditch trying to get to work in the weather on Wednesday, so a Children’s helicopter came to pick her up.

-- An employee at Egleston hospital parked her car at Whole Foods (on Lavista Road) and walked. That’s a 2 mile-long hike and a lot of it uphill.

-- Another employee at Scottish Rite damaged his tire trying to drive in. He stopped at a service station, and when someone there saw his Children’s badge, he gave him the spare tire out of his car to use.