Patient Stories (Page 12)

Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma is a rare liver cancer that affects just one in one million people. But the odds weren’t in Leslie Waller’s favor. At 33, she was healthy and enjoying her job as a high school administrator. Then she began having horrible abdominal pains. [caption id="attachment_10985" align="alignright" width="300"] Leslie…

When Laura DeBoer visited her doctor for a routine ultrasound, she had no idea anything was wrong. It had been a rough pregnancy, with lots of morning sickness.

As soon as she gave birth to her daughter, Michelle Tucker knew something was wrong. Just days after Savannah was born, she was airlifted to the University of Virginia Medical Center and underwent her first of many surgeries. Physicians told Michelle and her husband Michael that their newborn baby was…

In the final days of September, which was Blood Cancer Awareness Month, not one, but two leukemia patients decided to tie the knot with their fiancés at UVA Medical Center. Although under very different circumstances, the timing of the two weddings is remarkable. “This was a very exciting week for…

When Grayson Kirby arrived at the UVA emergency room in a medical helicopter, doctors gave him less than a 10 percent chance of survival. The 31-year-old had been in a car crash and had multiple broken bones, including bones in his neck and back, internal bleeding, crushed lungs and a lacerated…

Most of us associate Jillian Michaels with her “The Biggest Loser” tough-trainer persona. [caption id="attachment_10450" align="alignright" width="350"] After a car accident, Patty Grimm (left) learned to walk again with the help of UVA Culpeper Hospital physical therapist Jennifer Norrod.[/caption] But she’s struggled with her weight, body image and self-esteem. Check…

When Michael Cox was diagnosed with cryptogenic liver failure in the fall of 2010, his family was told he needed to be put on the waiting list — without a transplant, his life expectancy was less than five years. His daughter, Shana, was immediately tested to become a living liver…

Our interventional neuroradiologists and endovascular neurosurgeons also offer expertise in blood-clot removal during a stroke. This minimally invasive procedure, or thrombectomy, gives us a game-changing strategy for ending stroke as soon as possible. Read Bill's story about surviving a stroke.

The summer issue of our family health magazine, Vim & Vigor, focuses on the commonality of mental illness. [caption id="attachment_10109" align="alignright" width="300"] Frances and Charlie Berry were diagnosed with lung cancer just months apart.[/caption] Read about: Soccer star David Beckham opens up about dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). A list…

Popular ideas about the symptoms of dementia or Alzheimer’s conjure up images of forgetfulness, a person lost in a familiar place or unable to recognize loved ones. [caption id="attachment_10009" align="alignright" width="225"] Chris initially responded to the FTD and ALS diagnosis by jumping into light weights and swimming.[/caption] This is not…