Patient Stories (Page 19)

Sidestepping a Third Open-Heart Surgery “For the most part, I live the life of an average 24-year-old graduate student,” says Brandon Conroy. But like others born with congenital heart defects, he’s also in the hospital a lot. He has been through two open-heart surgeries: The first at age 5 to…

[caption id="attachment_868" align="alignright" width="199"] Gamma Knife surgery treated Kay Brockwell's brain tumor.[/caption] When Kay Brockwell of Altavista, Va., received the diagnoses of brain cancer last summer, her body had already been through the mill – twice. In 2006, she was operated on for ovarian and colon cancers, followed by weeks…

A teenage girl squeals in delight as she gazes down at Abbey, a red and white Pembroke Welsh corgi. With her mother’s help, the girl gives the eager and thankful dog some treats. The girl is Gracie, a 14-year-old pediatric patient at UVA’s Kluge Children’s Rehabilitation Center. Gracie watches as…