Items Tagged ‘Patient Story’
March 23, 2016
Sarcoma Diagnosis Proves to be a Blessing for Young Mom
Growing up on a farm in central Florida, Paige Douglas enjoyed a unique childhood, caring for a menagerie of animals, horseback riding, even barrel racing at local rodeos. But, when she was 10, Paige inadvertently hit her left knee while bouncing on a trampoline. Though she had no visible cuts, pain radiated up and down […]
Tags: Dr. Courtney Sherman, Dr. Peter Murray, Dr. Steven Attia, Florida Campus, Paige Douglas, Patient Story, sarcoma, synovial sarcoma
April 1, 2015
Dialysis Patient Stays Active, Sets New Life Goals While Awaiting a Kidney Transplant
By Paul Scotti 
If you’re diagnosed with a serious illness, it can be easy to get down and wonder why this is happening to you and how will it affect your future goals and dreams. For 57-year-old Jim McGarry of Fruit Cove, Florida, a diagnosis of end-stage renal disease that has required him to go on dialysis three days a week while […]
Tags: Dr. Floyd Willis, Dr. Peter Fitzpatrick, Florida Campus, kidney disease, kidney transplant, Patient Story
June 26, 2014
College Student Overcomes Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis
In her early 20s, Erin Ayub has big plans. As a college student in El Paso, Texas, she is also a musician and aspiring writer. She had to put her plans on hold for a bit while in a medically induced coma at Mayo Clinic in Arizona due to a rare illness — anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. […]
Tags: Arizona, encephalitis, Erin Ayub, Mayo Clinic, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Patient Story
June 20, 2014
Patient with “Double Trouble” Diagnosis Finds Answers at Mayo Clinic
By Paul Scotti
Being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a serious blood cancer, is difficult enough to accept. But being told that you also have a rare hematologic condition called amyloidosis — a disorder that could prevent you from receiving the bone marrow transplant necessary to combat your myeloma — could put anyone’s strength to the test. Such was the case […]
Tags: amyloidosis, BMT, bone marrow transplant, Dr. Taimur Sher, Kendall Schwindt, kidney, MayoClinicFL, multiple myeloma, nephrology, Patient Story
May 14, 2014
Miracle Patient Overcomes Unique Challenges to Receive Double Lung Transplant
By Paul Scotti
To 22-year-old double lung transplant recipient Curtis Higgons, being dubbed the “miracle patient” by his physicians may seem somewhat overstated. But when you consider the medical challenges his doctors had to contend with in preparing him for a life-saving double lung transplant, his moniker may be well deserved. Curtis was born with cystic fibrosis, an inherited […]
Tags: Curtis Higgons, cystic fibrosis, lung transplant, Mayo Clinic Florida, Patient Story, transplantation
April 30, 2014
She Was Born with Two Holes in Her Heart and No One Knew
Lung transplant brings unexpected answers to 27-year-old Ileana Hernandez was born with two holes in her heart. But for 27 years, no one knew. Hernandez, a computer systems engineer, worked long hours at her job with Bank of America in Jacksonville, Fla. She had transferred from her native Mexico because of her particular set of […]
Tags: Cesar Keller, Eisenmenger syndrome, Ileana Hernandez, MayoClinicFL, Patient Story
April 2, 2014
Most 13-year-old girls wouldn’t see having a scar down the middle of their chests as cool. Lola Montilla, however, is not your average 13-year-old girl. When she looks at the scar on her chest from the surgery she had at Mayo Clinic to repair the Ebstein’s anomaly heart defect she was born with, she says […]
Tags: Atrial Septum Defect, cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular surgery, Dr. Joseph Dearani, Ebstein's Anomaly, Heart & Heart Surgery, Patient Story
January 30, 2014
For One Couple, Expert Neurology Care Makes All the Difference
By SMHNadmin 
In one brief statement, Barbara Smith can sum up the impact that the staff in the Department of Neurology at Mayo Clinic in Arizona had on her and her husband as they faced several difficult and frightening medical problems: “They are our life-changing heroes.” For 40 years, seizures were just part of life for Barbara. […]
Tags: 2859, 2868, 5169, 5265, 5292, 5294, 5333, Cancer, Dr. Katherine Noe, Dr. Richard Zimmerman, Mayo Clinic Hospital, Mayo Clinic in Arizona
November 25, 2013
Identical Twins Share Genetic Makeup, and a Kidney
By SMHNadmin
When Ernesto Boleaga learned that he needed a kidney transplant, the perfect donor, his identical twin brother, Jose Luis, was ready and willing to help. And because the Boleagas have the same genetic make-up, Ernesto’s body accepted Jose Luis’ kidney as its own. For most patients, however, an identical twin donor isn’t an option, and […]
Tags: 3786, 5324, 5335, Dr. Mikel Prieto, kidney transplant, Living Donor, Patient Story, Regenerative Medicine, stem cell transplant, Transplant
November 20, 2013
The Decision to Save a Stranger’s Life
By SMHNadmin
A patient in need of transplant touches Dr. Phil Fischer’s heart and prompts him to explore living donation. As a result, a patient in need of a kidney lives on, enjoying her grandchildren, golfing and dancing. The shortage of deceased donor organs has reached a crisis, with almost 120,000 people in need of a […]
Tags: 3786, 5324, 5335, Dr. Phil Fischer, kidney transplant, Living Donor, Patient Story, Transplant