Patient Stories (Page 15)

Floyd Lamb had a problem. At first, it wasn’t that big of a deal; his finger was curling down and he was having a hard time straightening it. But then, one day, he couldn’t straighten that finger at all. And this simple problem made life very, very complicated. “I couldn’t…

It started off as a splitting headache that would not go away. Michelle Green tried a number of therapies: Massage, acupuncture, visiting a chiropractor. Then a neighbor suggested she see a doctor. “Thank God for pesky neighbors,” Green says. The tumor growing in her brain was the size of a…

Last year, Alden Moreton and his dad, Paul, decided to train for and run the Dominion River Rock 5k in Richmond. [caption id="attachment_6241" align="alignright" width="274"] Alden Moreton, who collapsed from cardiac arrest during a race last year[/caption] Then 12 years old, Alden was on both the football and lacrosse team…

Donna Markey, RN, MSN, ACNP-CS, is a nurse practitioner at UVA’s Hope Cancer Care Augusta in Fishersville, where she teaches patients about the chemotherapy process, tests and other aspects of their condition, writes prescriptions and helps patients manage side effects and symptoms. She enjoys the opportunity the job gives her…

Like so many of us, Milisa Galazzi was having trouble sleeping. A busy artist, mother of teenage sons and manager of her family’s day camp, Galazzi assumed that lying awake for part of the night just came with the territory of keeping track of so many responsibilities. It took an…

It took Teshema Anderson a long time to feel comfortable telling people how her mother died. A well-dressed, professional-looking woman with a beaming smile, happy family and successful career who speaks openly and with conviction, it’s hard to believe she ever felt scared of anything. But when it came to…

Fifteen percent of Charlottesville residents speak a language other than English at home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. For them, understanding diagnoses and following care instructions would be nearly impossible without the help of interpreters. [caption id="attachment_4922" align="alignright" width="300"] Liz Cook (left) interprets American Sign Language for patient Wanda…

Alice Carpenter is an RN who performs cardiac stress testing in the Cardiac Stress Lab at UVA. She shared her Women’s Four Miler Training Program experience with us. [caption id="attachment_4590" align="alignright" width="300"] Alice Carpenter and her daughter Sydney will participate in the Charlottesville Women's Four Miler on Labor Day.[/caption] In…

Whooping cough has been all over the news. So far this year, almost 18,000 cases of this contagious disease, also known as pertussis, have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CNN reports. Nine babies have died from the disease. Why are babies more at risk? Babies…

Harold Skinner and Tony Turner both spend about 12 hours a week hooked up to a dialysis machine, but neither complains. Reclined in comfortable chairs in front of a window looking out at the nearby mountains in rural Stanley, Va., the men say that if you need the treatment, this…