Patient Stories (Page 17)

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…

Did you know? One person dies of melanoma every hour, and it’s the most common form of cancer in adults 25-29 years old. Every spring, we begin seeing the magazine articles and public service announcements reminding us to wear sunscreen to prevent skin cancer. But if you’re a fair-skinned 20-something…

Mike Miller was a healthy 23-year-old. He never got sick. But that all changed suddenly when what he thought was a routine illness put him on a decade-long journey that ended with a kidney transplant at UVA. Goodpasture’s Syndrome Miller thought he had a cold. But when he started coughing…

What makes EBT unique is its five-point system, which helps a person identify their brain state and shift it in an intentional way.

Eighteen people die each day because there aren’t enough organs available for those in need, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. [caption id="attachment_3823" align="alignright" width="300"] Laurie Miller of Harrisonburg donated a kidney to a stranger in need.[/caption] Eighteen. And there are more than 100,000 people on…

My knees hurt. This is nothing new. After dancing fairly rigorously for 14 years, they started hurting when I was in high school, and I had to quit. Now in my mid-thirties - working at a desk job, wearing heels, running and doing yoga several times a week - it…

Recreation therapist Laurie Sewell sits cross-legged on the floor of a UVA hospital conference room. She’s demonstrating infant massage techniques on a doll while 2-year-old Haley Poore watches her and plays with a colorful toddler toy. [caption id="attachment_3742" align="alignright" width="300"] Recreational therapist Laurie Sewell (right) and Mended Little Hearts volunteer…

Sultan Kosen is eight feet three inches tall, and for the first time in his life, he knows that’s his maximum height. Kosen, of Turkey, had acromegaly — a condition where a tumor caused his pituitary gland to produce excessive growth hormone. In May 2010, UVA endocrinologist Mary Lee Vance,…

Each Monday this month, we’re looking at the UVA Cancer Center’s Integrative Medicine Program. How would you react if you found out the 4.5-centimeter lump on your breast was cancer?  What if you were just 31 years old, otherwise healthy and a busy student working towards a PhD? [caption id="attachment_2979"…

After running his first marathon in November 2010, Todd Smith was in the best shape of his life. At 49 years old, he felt great. So it came as a surprise in early 2011 when he started having frequent bouts of unexplained lightheadedness. [caption id="attachment_2530" align="alignright" width="300"] Heart rhythm patient…