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.
Kathy Cundiff loves the waves of the ocean, especially since she was raised on the coast of Virginia. Now that she is a mother of two in Culpeper, she is focused on waves of a different kind — the electrical waves of her heart. Doing so just may have saved her…
One day a few years ago, I noticed some strange tissue in my left breast. I went to the hospital for a mammogram, which led to a needle biopsy. The biopsy confirmed I had breast cancer.
Both natives to Culpeper, Frances and Charles (Charlie) met as teenagers. Frances worked part time at a local grocery store while Charlie fueled his passion for working with automobiles.
Angelo Dacus, MD, is upfront with his patient, Lisa Green. [caption id="attachment_8257" align="alignright" width="300"] Dr. Dacus works at the UVA Hand Center, as an expert orthopedic surgeon.[/caption] “Most of the time these can heal with therapy, a splint, rest. “ He nods at her elbow, which she holds, in pain.…
Every week we’re publishing the winning poems from April’s medical poetry contest. This week’s poem was a runner-up in Category II: How Sick Did You Get? Untitled By Bonnie Carey The worst ailment that on me befell Was an abdominal cyst that did swell Of alarming surprise Was its Guinness…
In 2012’s “Silver Linings Playbook,” Bradley Cooper portrayed the role of a mental health patient diagnosed with bipolar disorder. [caption id="attachment_8389" align="alignright" width="204"] Jennifer Raymond's son died of H1N1 flu complications in 2009. Read Vim & Vigor to find out how she honors his memory.[/caption] Read about Cooper’s experiences and…
For National Poetry Month, we held a poetry contest focusing on medical themes. We received numerous submissions, from hilarious haikus to heartfelt free verse. We all found it very difficult to choose our favorites! Daniel Becker, MD, editor of Hospital Drive, worked with our editorial staff to choose the winners.…
Helena Frischtak, a third-year medical student working in different clinics and parts of the hospital as part of her training, contributed this post. In the hospital, people come and go. Rooms take on new patients, and doctors take on different rooms. When you start to know a patient better, he…
In August 1982, Thomas P. Loughran Jr., MD, was working in Seattle when a woman with a mysterious blood illness was transferred to his hospital. That patient and her condition changed the path of Loughran’s research forever. [caption id="attachment_7950" align="alignright" width="300"] Read about patient Helen Trimm's cardiac arrest scare in…
Jim Malloy was only supposed to be pretending to have an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). [caption id="attachment_7762" align="alignright" width="300"] During training, medical student Ryan Jones (right) caught an AAA in Jim Malloy.[/caption] This condition, where an area in the abdominal section of the aorta swells and can burst, is common…
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