William J. Ray, MD, FACP

I have been struggling over choosing a moment or story that would best describe what being a patient of Dr. William Ray means to me. I finally realized that not just one of anything could do that. So all of the following are part of many reasons for my gratitude to Dr. Ray through the years. Always there for me when needed, showing me ways to stay as healthy as possible, treating me with excellent medical knowledge, not ever leaving a Dr. Ray appointment without a plan, answer or advice, following up with a call to check on my status during a healing time, seeing me quickly if I have developed a health concern, always kind and caring and I knowing I can put my trust in Dr. Ray. I am blessed to be his patient. 

Doctor Ray has been my doctor and my wife’s doctor since 1999. One day in his office when I was seeing him and a question came up in my mind to ask him. So I asked him the question and he said Sammy I don’t really know the answer to that but I will Google it so he Googled it and got me the answer. I don’t remember the question or the answer but that made Doctor Ray be a real person to me anytime I needed to get a hold of him. I could usually get a hold of him or he would call me back.

Regarding my wife, he saved her life numerous times probably four or five times. The last time I took her to the emergency room May 31, 2022. We went into the emergency room and the emergency room doctor after doing some testing and everything with JEANETTE he came back to me and told me I’m sorry to tell you this but she is dying so I started crying a little and I said I am going to call Doctor Ray and see what he can do. I also called my daughter and said if you can come down here right away I need you with me and she came. I called Doctor Ray and he said Sammy don’t worry they don’t know what to do with JEANETTE. I know her well. I will be right there so he came down and he got her going again after a little while and she was in the hospital for maybe a week or so and she had to go to a nursing home then on she lived about another five or six months in and out of nursing homes and hospitals she ended up at McLean County nursing home and that is where she passed away on November 3, 2022. I got another five months to be with my wife, and I saw her every single day until she passed away on November 3, 2022.
I’ve gotten to know his wife, Sara, and I’ve known his nurse Karen almost as long as I’ve known, Doctor Ray. I call Karen whenever I have questions and if she needs to let the doctor know she will.

I am a patient in Dr. W. Ray's MDVIP practice since its inception and previously also. His constant availability has been a true blessing. I'll never forget the night I had an asthma attack and was able to avoid a trip to the ED due to being able to contact Dr. Ray immediately. He is always willing to listen to concerns and address them competently. Since I am a retired ED nurse, I realize I could be considered a challenge.🙃 However, Dr. Ray is always kind and willing to listen to my concerns in a positive and understanding manner. I trust his knowledge and treatment, plus I like him as a person! What else can one require?

How many calendars and monthly pages . . . has it been? Surprising I had to count and find that Dr. Ray has been my “primary physician” for over 3 decades.
I can thank an attentive GYN who had been seeing me for many years announced I needed to see my primary physician. I asked why and he said, “Your blood pressure has been elevated the past few visits and your explanation is always, “I have a headache today.” He referred me to a new internist in town. His name was Dr. William Ray.
From my first visit I was impressed with his quiet manner and questions that made it clear he was a good listener and smart. I felt comfortable in his presence. My appointment dialogs always clarified the reason I was there, reviewed my current medications, and confirmed if all were helping. We rarely ended appointments without discussing topics of current interest (ie: Cub Scouts for his son & my grandson & camping).
In 2022 I was experiencing some pain/pressure in my R eye and had a slight headache. My blood pressure was higher than usual, so I called and got in to see Dr. Ray immediately. Following a thorough review of me and my statistics - it was his opinion I should see an ophthalmologist right away.
My vision clinic saw me the same morning under the category of “urgent status.” They determined the pressure in my eye was extremely high and I was kept several hours while they lowered the pressure with eye drops. End result, I was diagnosed with Acute Angle Closed Glaucoma and had corrective surgery days later.
Dr. Ray examined me carefully the day of that event. He felt strongly a problem existed within the eye. His accurate decision was essential in ultimately saving my sight. Thank you Dr. Ray for “always being there for me.”