Six years ago, Alexander City resident Jessica Beauchamp’s Tuesday started off as a regular day until she got a weird feeling in her leg that quickly turned into persistent pain. She scheduled a doctor’s visit with a local clinic in hopes of figuring out what was going on. What she never saw coming was fighting for her life by the end of the week but a local doctor was able to help.

Alexander City physician Dr. Basel Refai saw Beauchamp and monitored her pain and progress daily. Refai practices at Lake Martin Vascular Clinic where he specializes in vascular/endovascular medicine. His office called Beauchamp each day and had a follow-up visit planned for the next Monday. One phone call was alarming enough for Refai to decide Beauchamp needed to be reevaluated before the weekend.