Patient Stories (Page 16)

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…

While many people associate November with Movember and men’s health, it’s also Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. Watch UVA political analyst Larry Sabato's story.

UVA patient Betsy Houston, a freelance writer and editor, contributed this post. “A debt we can never repay…” That’s how my husband and I describe our relationship with the UVA Health System. Nearly ten years ago, the doctors and nurses in the hospital saved my life after a massive gastrointestinal…

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…