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Healthy Balance

Patient Stories (Page 12)

A cancer survivor. A heart attack victim. Pediatric patients. Be inspired by medical stories from ordinary people who’ve had extraordinary challenges. Hear about the health problems and transformations of our patients.

Hackensaw Boys singer David Sickmen was treated for vocal cord polyps at UVA.
Hackensaw Boys Singer Treated for Vocal Polyps
Patient Stories, Videos 1/25/2016

At 18, David Sickmen started playing music and singing. He never planned on making music a career, but by age 30 he had formed The Hackensaw Boys, a hard-rocking bluegrass band based out of Charlottesville. After years of singing, Sickmen began to feel pain and noticed that his vocals were changing.

Leslie Waller, who had a liver transplant, and husband Quincy
A Liver Transplant at 33: A Life-Changing Experience
Patient Stories, Videos 12/11/2015

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…

Savannah-And-Family
From NICU to College: One Girl’s Journey
Patient Stories, Videos 11/2/2015

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…

Wedding Flowers and scrubs
UVA Cancer Center, Abuzz with Weddings
Patient Stories 10/5/2015

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…

Grayson survived a traumatic brain injury and crushed lungs.
A Car Crash Survivor’s Story
Patient Stories 10/1/2015

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…

Patty Grimm working with a UVA Culpeper Hospital physical therapist
Jillian Michaels and Simple Weight Loss Tips: Fall Vim & Vigor
Patient Stories 8/10/2015

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…

Michael needed a liver transplant. A living donor saved his life.
Living Liver Donation: A Father and Daughter’s Story
Patient Stories, Videos 7/30/2015

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…

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A Swift Save: A Patient’s Stroke Story
Patient Stories 5/8/2015

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.

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