Pringle had nose surgery and when there were complications, the doctor was upset because he had to do a follow-up examination, Pringle said.
Now a board-certified endovascular surgeon in Carrollton, Texas, Pringle, 53, uses that experience with his doctor to direct his interactions with his patients.
“Performing a procedure doesn’t make you a great doctor,” Pringle said during a phone interview from his Core Vascular Services office. “It’s all about how you help people.“
This month Pringle was recognized as one of the Best Doctors in Collin County by the editors of the D Magazine. He called the award “a prestigious honor” because it came from fellow doctors and patient reviews.
Pringle credits his upbringing in Middletown, the lessons he learned from his parents, Bishop Rudy Pringle, 88, and Marlene Pringle, 82, and what he called his “extended parents,” male role models in the community.
“They always encouraged you not to give up,” he said. “Strong men. We have lost a lot of that. You see that’s missing in kids today. They don’t have the drive to do better.”
In 1986, Pringle said he was one of 13 football players from the Middletown school district to sign letters of intent to play college football.
“That’s a lot of players from a small town,” he said. “There was a drive for greatness. You wanted to do better than your families.”
From his parents, Pringle said he learned the importance of integrity, morals and loving God and people.
“We are all excited where he is,” his mother said. “He’s doing great things. He‘s helping people.”
Pringle earned an athletic scholarship to play defensive back at Ohio University where he graduated in four years. He later graduated from Case Western Reserve Medical School and completed his fellowship at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati.
Since his parents can’t attend church due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pringle leads them in weekly Zoom church services, his mother said.
“He has been successful because of God,” his mother said. “That’s home training.”
Pringle said his faith guided him through the “very devastating” death of his first wife, Samantha, who lost her battle with cancer in 2010. He married Pam in 2014 and has one step-daughter, Kennedy, 18.
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