• patient  kaylah at volleyball game

    Kaylah’s story: Jumping, spiking, and diving into her volleyball passions without pain from scoliosis

    Kaylah received a diagnosis of scoliosis during a routine doctor’s exam while in elementary school. The timing of her diagnosis is very common between the ages of 10 and 18.

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  • patient Jace smiling

    From Track Star to Cancer Survivor: Jace’s Triumphant Journey Overcoming Ewing’s Sarcoma

    At 16 years old, Jace was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer. His world, once filled with the thrill of the race, suddenly revolved around hospital visits, chemotherapy and radiation sessions, and surgeries.

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, Melanie Beeson, rollerblades through the halls.

    A Rollerblading Dream Reclaimed: Melanie's Journey with POTS

    It wasn’t until Melanie was 12, during a visit with one of her physicians, that postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) was mentioned to the family. POTS is a condition that affects blood flow and can cause dizziness, fainting and rapid heart rate, especially upon standing. Two years lat...

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  • portrait of patient Gabrielle

    Elite High School Track Athlete Overcomes Hip Dysplasia with Periacetabular Osteotomy (PAO)

    Gabrielle Edwards, a 17-year-old multisport athlete specializing in track and field, faced a significant challenge that threatened her athletic dreams. Diagnosed with hip dysplasia, she underwent hip preservation surgery

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  • patient izzy smiling

    Advanced Interventional Radiology Technology: Izzy's Path to Recovery from 8 inches of a Blood Clot

    When the pain wouldn’t go away, Melissa took Izzy to see her pediatrician, who examined her left leg and noticed it was swollen, red and firm to the touch. Suspecting a blood clot, the pediatrician immediately referred Izzy to the pediatric emergency room at Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital.

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  • Elia Contreras

    A Heartfelt Miracle: The Inspiring Heart Procedure Journey of Elia Contreras

    Elia Contreras wasn’t supposed to live past five years old, according to the news her parents received after what started as a routine checkup when she was just a few months old. Now, almost 50 years later, Elia has defied the odds and continues to thrive year after year.

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann Osseointegration patient, Wayne Moorehead

    Wayne's Story: "Feels" the Floor Through His Prosthetic Legs

    As Wayne was healing after amputation, he could use traditional prostheses to walk short distances with forearm crutches, but osseointegration proved to be life-changing for him.

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  • Joe Pompa with his family

    Uncovering AFib: The Unexpected Turn in One Man's Health Journey

    For Joe Pompa, family is everything; it’s his driving force in all that he does. He knows that to be his best, he needs to be healthy. His commitment to health is why Joe schedules routine doctor’s visits and screenings.

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  • Sam Torrence

    From Knee Replacement to US Open Pickleball Championships

    Sam’s knee pain progressed to the point where rest and conservative measures could not relieve his symptoms, and he even began waking during the night with pain. After consulting with David Doherty, Jr., MD, Memorial Hermann-affiliated orthopedic surgeon, Sam knew it was time for total-knee...

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  • patient posing with newborn in hospital bed

    Welcome Baby Jack through the comfort of Memorial Hermann Greater Heights

    As Jenny's pregnancy progressed, she was looking for a new labor and delivery experience that differed from her first two babies, who were both delivered in a larger, less personalized environment.

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  • patient holding trophy

    Finley's Triumph: Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy Surgery

    As Finley approached his teen years, he faced multiple procedures that profoundly impacted his life under the skilled care of Manish Shah, MD, a pediatric neurosurgeon affiliated with Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital and its Children’s Neuroscience Center. His journey through years of physica...

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  • patient collin in mirror pic

    Collin’s Story: Harnessing the Power of Determination and Positive Thinking to Overcome Scoliosis

    “There isn’t a thing out there that stops me. When I got the scoliosis diagnosis, I had to rethink how I was going to live life. But you can’t give up,” said Collin.

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  • patient zion holding picture

    Jumping for Joy – Zion’s Journey with Cerebral Palsy and SDR Surgery

    Around the age of 3, Zion was officially diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP). After several temporary therapies and treatments, Zion’s parents continued to advocate for their son. 

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  • patient sienna laying in hospital bed smiling

    Surgery for Tetralogy of Fallot Unleashes the Full Potential of Sienna Wilson’s Brain

    When Sienna Grace Wilson was born, a little fighter came into the world. Her parents, Sarah and David Wilson, were in awe of their new baby. They were also very emotional because of Sienna’s pre-birth diagnosis of Tetralogy of Fallot.

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, Yani Jones, graduates from Xavier University.

    Yani Jones Recovers from Near-Comatose State to Excel in Academics

    Aiyana “Yani” Jones came to the Disorders of Consciousness (DoC) Program at TIRR Memorial Hermann after autoimmune encephalitis left her in a near-comatose state. Yani had just been diagnosed with lupus; it was the summer of her junior year of college, and the disease had caused severe complicati...

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  • patient gavin in car seat

    Gavin’s Story: Overcoming Omphalocele

    But in December of that year, during a routine screening in their hometown of Lufkin, Texas, Blain’s doctor found signs suggesting their baby might have spina bifida. The news was shocking, and the couple travelled to visit with specialists for extensive testing. The tests revealed that their son...

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  • patient amy in flower field

    Beating the odds: How Amy survived after a tumor caused her heart to stop 400 times in six days

    Amy and her team navigated through complex medical and emotional challenges with a level of courage, confidence and precision that saved her life and revitalized her future.

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  • Cancer survivor, Deanna Owens smiles with her husband on a dinner date.

    Annual Mammogram and Award-Winning Care: A Healthy Combination

    Deanna Owens has believed in the importance of regular medical care for her entire life. The 83-year-old says she probably hasn’t missed an annual mammogram since she began yearly screening many decades ago.

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  • patient michel in football uniform

    From traumatic injury to triumphant recovery: Navigating the path to healing with hyperbaric oxygen therapy

    Michael, fresh from a game of youth football, was enjoying a casual dirt bike ride around the neighborhood with his dad. This normalcy was shattered in an instant when an accident left Michael with a severe compound fracture in his leg. The shock and fear were immediate.

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  • patient phyllis lair holding brain

    Using Ultrasound to Treat Essential Tremor

    Lair saw a neurologist in College Station and was diagnosed with essential tremor, a neurological condition believed to be caused by disruption of signals that control movement in the brain.

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  • patient landon sitting on grass

    Landon's Journey: Overcoming CDH with Gratitude and Hope

    When Elizabeth came in for a second scan a week later, things felt off. The ultrasound technician kept going back to the same spot, muttering about the baby's diaphragm. Finally, she broke the silence with, "I can't see his diaphragm. It's there... and then it stops. I need to contact your OBGYN....

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  • patient dottie posing at park

    Dottie's Heart Journey: A Tale of Resilience, Faith and a Life Without Limits

    Navigating this amazing journey, Dottie’s parents, Brad and Caitlin, were by her side, backed by the medical team at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital where she was transferred after birth. From fetal heart diagnostics to the heart-wrenching uncertainties that followed, their daugh...

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, Dallas Matamoros, walks down the aisle at his graduation from LSU.

    Dallas Matamoros: Graduation, Career and a New Best Friend

    Dallas Matamoros was a college student at LSU when he was hit by a car, resulting in a traumatic brain injury. It was May 27, 2020, and the physicians at the acute care hospital he was taken to gave him little chance of survival. His family, unwilling to accept this fate, sought out the help of T...

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  • patient noah

    A Soldier's Sacrifice: Relocating for Her Baby's Lifeline to Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital

    The majority of Teemer’s pregnancy was uneventful, and she felt healthy, happy and excited. But as she neared the 34-week mark, she began experiencing an unrelenting migraine for three consecutive days. Concerned, she sought medical attention at the hospital where she worked, just to ensure...

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  • NewStart success stories, the Patranellas, share a moment with their children.

    Gastric Sleeve Surgery Helps Couple Lose Weight and Stay on Track

    For over 15 years, Alecia and Jason Patranella tried everything to lose weight, including fad diet after fad diet, without success. It was an embarrassing moment at a Major League Baseball game that ultimately motivated the Huntsville, Texas, couple to take definitive action.

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, Alese Zeman, walks her dog post-recovery.

    Alese's Story: Step by Step

    After an automobile accident, Alese was taken to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, where she was in a coma for two weeks due to a brain injury that resulted from the accident. Once she was medically stable, she was transferred to TIRR Memorial Hermann.

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  • patient tucker playing football

    Reaching the End Zone: Tucker Lee's Inspiring Journey from Knee Injury to Football Dream

    However, in 2022, Tucker faced a major setback when he sustained a knee injury unrelated to football during his sophomore year of high school. The incident took place while he was wrestling. He got stuck in a twisted position and didn’t realize he tore his meniscus at that moment. The next ...

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  • patient marciela with family

    Minimally Invasive Back Surgery Gives Young Mom Her Life Back

    Maricela Cedillo began experiencing minor back flare-ups in her mid-twenties and early thirties, which she attributed to physical activities like running and working out. “My back would hurt,” she says, “but the pain would go away within a day or two.”

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  • Katie Payne, NewStart success story, rings the bell following her marathon finish.

    From Duty to Dedication: Katie Payne's Journey to Health and Happiness

    At 227 pounds, Katie felt her energy depleted at the end of the day. Then, a turning point came when several of Katie's coworkers shared their success stories after undergoing weight loss surgery. Inspired by their transformations, Katie made a firm decision. "That's it," she resolved. "If they c...

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  • Dr. Mark J. Pidala, MD and Kathryn Moseley

    Alarming rise in colorectal cancer among younger adults

    According to a 2023 report published by the American Cancer Society (ACS), nearly double the number of adults under the age of 55 are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer now than a decade ago—despite a drop in the incidence of CRC in the general population.

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  • portrait of patient halo

    A Heart's Odyssey: Baby Halo's Courageous Battle Against Two Rare Heart Conditions

    Their journey, however, took an unexpected and dramatic turn when, at just 22 weeks’ gestation, Jameka’s water broke prematurely. Fearing the worst, they rushed to a local Houston hospital where Jameka was admitted to the Labor & Delivery unit.

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  • patient evan with family

    A life reimagined: Evan's victory over adult congenital diaphragmatic hernia

    Rewind to the year 2020. Evan and his wife, Rachel, were expecting their first child. Rachel was several months pregnant and in the process of completing years of study for a PhD. It was during this time that Evan noticed that something wasn’t quite feeling right with his health.

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  • patient jenny

    Optimizing patient outcomes: Advancements in surgical navigation for scoliosis treatment

    At just 15 years old, Jenny Gonzales has a profound understanding of conquering life’s adversities. She has endured 17 medical procedures including two open-heart surgeries. In July 2023, she faced another formidable obstacle: an 11-hour surgery to correct a severe curvature in her spine....

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  • patient kayden

    Message From the Heart: A Life-Changing Text Message and Story of Hope at the Children’s Heart Institute at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital

    For Demetric Fisher, her daughter Kaydan's health was such a test. Born on June 20, 2012, in Jackson, Miss., little Kaydan’s life led her family on an emotional rollercoaster that would shape their lives for years to come.

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  • patient William portrait

    William’s CDH and heart journey: A story of hope, resilience and positive outcomes

    Despite the previous reassuring tests, William’s position during the ultrasound raised concerns. His heart appeared too far to the left and his stomach couldn’t be located.

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  • Memorial Hermann Transplant patients hug after life-saving kidney swaps.

    The Power of Kidney Swaps: A Tale of Two Families at Memorial Hermann

    At Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, two couples, each touched by kidney disease, made the decision to participate in a kidney swap. Jackie and Marvis Killingsworth of Cypress, Texas, and Lindsey and Jentry Camp of Magnolia, Texas, are examples of the power of kidney swaps, and the profound ...

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  • Patient with Nurse

    Staying the Course: How Nurse Navigators Help Patients on Their Treatment Journeys

    “With nurse navigators, patients have someone they can reach out to, who can answer their questions and make sense of this whole treatment process, which can be confusing,” says Sherrill. “And if there are scheduling problems or other barriers to treatment, we can help with that...

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  • patient emory smiling with mom

    Expecting Emory: A Mother's Journey Through Pregnancy, COVID-19, and Recovery

    This was the case for Jessica Harris-Wiltz, 38, when she became pregnant in 2019. Little did she know that her pregnancy would take place during the global COVID-19 pandemic and lead to a life-threatening situation for her and her baby during an already high-risk pregnancy.

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann pediatric patient, Zach, dons a new backpack.

    Zach's Story: Growing Up with Limb Loss

    Zach spent time in the NICU and required several blood transfusions. Once he was able to go home with his family, he began physical and occupational therapy while still an infant. Meanwhile, his parents crisscrossed the United States from their home in California, seeking advice from over 30 diff...

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  • Memorial Hermann Transplant patients, Beltran and McQueen, smile together with their families.

    Lifesaving Kidney Transplantation

    Two families in Texas experienced a remarkable journey, one that brought them together for a lifesaving kidney swap and created an unbreakable bond. In a world where their paths might have never crossed, Leticia McQueen and Geraldina Beltran found hope in the midst of their struggles with chronic...

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  • Former TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, Angel Moldonado, smiles on his travels.

    Angel's Story: Traveling and Pursuing Degrees after Spinal Cord Injury

    Angel spent several months in the children’s hospital in Austin recovering from the accident. During that time, his parents researched rehabilitation hospitals and learned about Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation at TIRR Memorial Hermann.

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  • patient mya smiling

    Mya’s story: A brave and courageous battle against ALL

    Mya Guerra had always been extremely energetic, constantly running around, playing, and just full of life. Then, a few weeks shy of her sixth birthday, she began experiencing unusual symptoms that caught her parents off guard and concerned them. It was unlike anything they had seen before.

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  • Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital-Katy patient, Ahmed Vaid, stands proudly with his wife following treatment.

    Ahmed's Story: Returning to Simple Pleasures Following Stroke

    About five weeks after arriving at TIRR Memorial Hermann for stroke rehabilitation, Ahmed did go home. He started outpatient therapy at Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital-Katy, which was closer to his home. Because the hospital is part of the Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Network, Ahmed w...

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  • Dr. Angel Blanco, MD and Victor Rosario

    Radiation Therapy Helps Keep 9/11 Firefighter’s Prostate Cancer at Bay

    As a firefighter in New York City during 9/11, Victor Rosario battled the ravages of terrorism to protect the lives of his fellow citizens. Now, as a seven-year FDNY retiree, he’s fighting a new battle—against prostate cancer.

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  • patient glen on lake

    Atrial Fibrillation Doesn’t Always Hurt. Here’s Why You Need to Take It Seriously.

    He’d felt a similar sensation before, but usually just for a minute or two. This time it persisted. He happened to have a pulse oximeter nearby, and he put it on his finger while he was still seated. His heart rate kept rising: 150, 160, 170. He called to his wife in the other room. “...

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  • NewStart patient, Cherie Evans, poses with her family.

    Cherie's Story: Weight Loss Surgery Helps Grateful Mom Overcome Infertility

    Cherie Evans’ road to motherhood took some bumps and twists and turns. But the 32-year-old resident of Angleton, Texas, looks back on her journey with gratitude. For in her quest to give birth to a new life, she enriched—and potentially saved—her own.

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  • patient Christopher with family

    Christopher’s Journey to Independence: An Epilepsy Success Story

    After years of uncontrolled seizure activity, Christopher Borck resigned himself to a life of isolation. Epilepsy prevented the otherwise healthy young man from doing everyday things like driving a car and living independently. Even though he was taking seizure-control medication, his seizures...

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, Eric Blumentritt, poses with his family for a photo.

    Workers’ Compensation Program Helps Eric Return to his Career

    For over 17 years, Eric Blumentritt has worked for a power tool service company in Deer Park, Texas. Away from his job, he is a husband, father and musician who plays with a local band. After an accident at work resulted in a traumatic brain injury, Eric went to TIRR Memorial Hermann for rehabili...

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  • Evelyn Hidalgo

    Evelyn Hidalgo Benefits from Multidisciplinary, Integrated Breast Cancer Treatment

    One night in February 2022, Evelyn Hidalgo was awakened by a sharp pain in her left breast. “I did a breast self-exam and felt a little bump near the nipple,” she says. “I promised myself I would call my gynecologist in the morning.”

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  • Todd Hansen standing in front of ICU sign

    Todd’s Story: Triumphant Recovery from Traumatic Brain Injury

    When Todd Hansen was rushed to the Emergency Center at Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center early in the morning of March 18, 2022, doctors told hi...

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  • Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital - Katy patient, Yen Lang, returns to work in his kitchen.

    Yen's Story: Business Owner Returns to Running His Restaurant

    After a sudden aneurysm and stroke, Yen Lang, returns home following inpatient rehabilitation through Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital - Katy.

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  • patient ripp in swing

    Ripp’s story: Family credits Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital’s affiliated trauma team and TIRR Memorial Hermann for son’s recovery from a traumatic brain injury following a tractor accident.

    On September 24, 2022, Chase and Kendall had a few friends over at their family farm in El Campo where they gathered around the fire pit, grilling fajitas. It was supposed to be a fun and relaxing afternoon on the farm. But then, in a matter of minutes, everything changed so quickly. Ripp had bee...

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  • Red Duke Trauma Institute patient, Mathew Craft, rides his motorcycle after recovery.

    Road to Recovery: After a Motorcycle Crash, Mathew Craft Overcame Challenges by Focusing on Finding Joy

    As soon as the paramedics arrived, they called Memorial Hermann Life Flight®. The next thing he recalls is waking up in a surgical ICU bed at the Red Duke Trauma Institute at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, one of the busiest Level I trauma centers in the nation.

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  • Trauma survivor, Mia Tschen, speaks at the Red Duke Trauma Symposium.

    Teen Overcomes "a Constellation" of Traumatic Injuries

    Emilia “Mia” Tschen wants you to know her story. The 20-year-old Lake Jackson, Texas resident survived a traumatic car crash and lives to tell about it. Not so much about the crash itself, which took place 45 minutes from her home on the evening of September 28, 2019, but about her healing journe...

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  • Trauma patient and survivor, Gary, stands proudly with his wife.

    Team Approach Saves the Life of Severe Burn Victim

    Affiliated burn surgeon Todd Huzar, MD, FACS, associate professor of acute care surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, was the first to treat Gary in the Burn Center. “We excised deep burns to his right hand and wrist and to his right lower extremity,” he says.

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  • Trauma survivor, Eric Herdejurgen, stands with the Life Flight crew and helicopter.

    ECMO Brought Eric Back from the Brink

    “I started to go downhill in the ambulance, and Memorial Hermann Life Flight came and picked me up and took me to the Texas Medical Center,” Herdejurgen said. “I don’t remember the CPR, or the helicopter ride. I briefly remember being in the emergency room at Memorial Hermann when they shocked me...

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  • patient rebecca

    Rebecca’s Story: Care in Katy through the Comprehensive Congenital Colorectal Program

    In the spring of 2021, Francesca and Carlos Recao, who live near Katy, Texas, were finally feeling settled as first-time parents. Their little girl, Rebecca Rose, had just turned 9 months old, and the couple was soaking up every moment as a family of three. But during Rebecca’s 9-month well...

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, Gary Thompson, stands on the beach with his wife.

    Gary's Story: Traveling Following a Stroke

    The entire time her husband was hospitalized, Carol Thompson kept a Hawaiian shirt hanging in his hospital room, within his eyesight to serve as a reminder of his goal – to recover from his strokes, so they could go on a Hawaiian vacation with their entire family.

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, Alexandra Chavez, poses for a photograph.

    Alexandra: Finding a New Career Path

    In April 2021, Alexandra Chavez sustained a brain injury and was in a coma for a month. Once she was medically stable, in May 2021, Alexandra’s parents had her transferred to TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston for rehabilitation.

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  • patient evan at playground

    Evan’s Story: Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital Gave Our Son Renewed Hope and Optimism

    The Carkhuffs’ journey to find answers for their son involved relocating their family 1,600 miles away from their home in Pennsylvania to Houston, Texas, where they found hope. Houston has been home to the family for the past 16 years, and it was in Houston where they found the doctors that...

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, Stephanie, works with her physical therapist.

    Stephanie's Story: Taking on the Great Outdoors after Limb Loss

    For their anniversary in March 2023, Stephanie and Jared Poole traveled to the Great Smoky Mountains to hike and celebrate 18 years of marriage. Stephanie was able to have an active, outdoor vacation with the use of her prosthetic leg.

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  • Jacob Velez shows his musical instrument while wearing a Christmas hat

    Jacob: Preparing to Return to School and Music Following Brain Injury

    Fifteen-year-old Jacob Velez loves all types of music, from jazz, to classical, to rap. He is a member of his high school marching band in Brownsville, Texas, where he plays the trombone. When he had a brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM) that ruptured, his TIRR Memorial Hermann team worked tog...

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  • patient Isaac

    Isaac’s story: The Comprehensive Congenital Colorectal Program helped give our son the ability to live a socially confident life

    Isaac was born with imperforate anus, a rare birth defect where there is no anus (opening) at the end of his digestive tract. Isaac also had a neurogenic bladder, a term that describes what happens when neurological conditions affect the way the bladder functions. He had surgery to reconstruct hi...

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  • patient Deputy Hubbard

    Deputy Breathes Easier Following Treatment for Pulmonary Embolism

    Harris County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Raymond Hubbard has faced many situations that have left him breathless over his 25-year career in law enforcement. But last February, walking up his stairs at his home in Richmond to play with his then 2-year-old daughter, he couldn’t breathe and...

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  • Tonja Buford-Bailey

    How a Track Star's Unexpected Diagnosis Made Her an Advocate for Colon Cancer Screening

    Olympic medalist Tonja Buford-Bailey coaches other elite athletes and is in excellent physical shape herself – or she thought she was. She drinks plenty of water. She’s never smoked. She eats a healthy diet and avoids sugar, processed foods and red meat.

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, Kelli Bixler, smiles in the shade on a sunny day.

    Kelli Bixler: Celebrating Life

    Surrounded by family and friends in October 2022, Kelli Bixler was thrilled to be hosting an event to celebrate her life. She was able to chat, eat some of her favorite foods and walk around to spend time with her loved ones. Just a year prior, she was unable to perform any of those activities du...

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann Osseointegration patient, Alex, stands with his four daughters at a play ground.

    Limb Replacement Through Osseointegration (OI) Gives Persons with Amputations Control of Their Lives

    For patients who face amputations, the road to recovery is a long one, filled with physical, emotional and social challenges. For those who undergo bilateral transfemoral amputations, the impact of limb loss is amplified. Alex Weatherford was an early OI patient and the first bilateral amputee fo...

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  • Read about derek fight against leukemia

    Making remarkable progress: Derek’s courageous fight against leukemia

    Since the day Derek Noriega was born, he had always been a healthy and physically active child. He rarely ate out and preferred healthy, home-cooked meals by his mom Yaris. But in late February 2021, when Derek was 7 years old, he began developing unusual symptoms that concerned his mother. ...

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  • patient Cynthia and Dr. Au

    Cynthia’s Story: Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery for Urologic Condition Vastly Improves Quality of Life

    An MRI revealed a tumor on Cynthia’s spine. The pressure was affecting her nerves, causing numbness in her legs. Because of the location of the tumor, it was critical that it be removed as quickly as possible before causing further damage to the nerves in her spi...

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  • Dr Gajjar and Natalie Davis

    Natalie Davis: Surprise Colon Cancer Diagnosis

    “Cancer” was not what Natalie Davis was expecting to hear. After all, she was 50 years old. She had no history of colon cancer in her family. The colonoscopy—her first—was routine. And she felt perfectly fine.

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  • patient slade

    Slade’s Story: A Journey to a Flawless Heart Transplant

    Shortly after Slade was born in October 2011, he was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy. This condition is dominated by a heart that’s too big, causing the heart muscle to be very weak and have a leaky mitral valve.

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  • patient jayden

    Jayden’s story: Family credits Children’s Memorial Hermann’s pediatric burn treatment program for son’s recovery from second-degree burns after microwave incident

    "I burned myself,” said Jayden. “As I was walking to the living room, I heard the microwave ding. Since my mom was still outside, I wanted to help her out so I decided to get the food out of the microwave. I went to the kitchen, got up on the counter, and opened the microwave door. Wh...

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  • patient Carol Cordell

    MitraClip Restores Active Lifestyle for Energy Corridor Senior

    By June, following a transesophageal echocardiogram, in which an ultrasound probe is deployed down the throat to get a closer look at the heart, Dr. Dadu confirmed what he had suspected – Cordell was suffering from mitral valve regurgitation.

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  • A portrait of TIRR Memorial Hermann patient and colleague, Robert Vaughn.

    A Full Life: Robert Vaughn Has Been a TIRR Memorial Hermann Patient for Over 60 Years

    Robert spent a total of nine months at TIRR Memorial Hermann and had physical and occupational therapy every day. In addition, TIRR Memorial Hermann provided Robert with an opportunity for education, and he later returned there as an employee.

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  • Family on beach shore

    Mother of Three Surprised by Colon Cancer Diagnosis

    Jill Schwertner doesn’t fit the profile of the average colon cancer patient. The 42-year-old resident of The Woodlands is healthy, doesn’t smoke, eats healthfully and doesn’t have a family history of colon cancer.

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  • patient Luke Keaton

    Luke’s Story: Above and beyond care after a hypoplastic left heart syndrome diagnosis

    As soon as possible, she and Troy made an appointment with The Fetal Center at Children Memorial Hermann Hospital for an in-utero echocardiogram, which would provide a detailed image of their baby's heart. Prenatal diagnosis plays a vital role in identifying critical cardiac defects, helps guide ...

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  • patient theodore

    Giving Theodore a fighting chance: This little heart warrior beat the odds after HLHS diagnosis

    Theodore was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a complex congenital heart defect in which the left side of the heart is underdeveloped and cannot pump oxygen-rich blood to the body. Babies with this condition need a minimum of three open-heart surgeries. ...

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  • patient in swing

    Maggie’s Story: Seeking Out Highly Specialized Care for Placenta Accreta

    “My doctor and I decided together to monitor it and follow up with another scan in a few weeks,” Maggie said. “I was so nervous after I first learned about my diagnosis, so I started doing all of this research on my own, and that’s when I first came across The Fetal ...

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  • patient Dylan

    Dylan’s Story: Celebrating Small, but Mighty Victories After Fetoscopic Spina Bifida Surgery

    "The ultrasound showed the ventricles in my baby’s brain were enlarged,” said Courtney. “Concerned he might have hydrocephalus, my OB-GYN sent me to a maternal-fetal medicine specialist in town.” A few days later, Courtney met with her family friend and MFM physician, Dr. ...

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  • Chris and Salma family portrait

    “You Never Expect to Need It:” A Family Expresses Gratitude for Memorial Hermann’s Infant CPR Class

    On a recent Saturday this past August, new parents Chris and Salma were hosting a small dinner party for friends. They had recently moved into a new home and were excited to get a group together for the first time since the pandemic had started. Between work, life and raising a young baby d...

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, Sierra, stands after rehabilitation.

    Sierra Tobia: From Brain Injury Patient to Nurse

    When Sierra Tobia takes care of her patients at TIRR Memorial Hermann, she does so with a unique perspective. She first came to TIRR Memorial Hermann as a patient in 2014, and, today as a nurse at TIRR Memorial Hermann, she has first-hand knowledge and understanding of her patients’ journeys.

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  • Patient Alexandra

    Alexandra's Story: A Combined Approach for Hip Dysplasia Helps Elite Athletes Return to Competition

    Elite athlete Alexandra Wainwright, 20, began her practice of karate at the age of 8. At the age of 17, she was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and had bilateral hip preservation surgeries as a patient at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. Now, Alexandra competes with the best athletes from...

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  • Dana Cherry

    Beating the Odds

    Dana Cherry always knew there was a good chance she would get breast cancer. When she was 25, she discovered that she had a gene mutation associated with a 50% chance of developing breast cancer by age 70.

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  • patient Wyatt waiving hello

    Wyatt’s Spina Bifida Journey: How Our Miracle Baby Beat the Odds One Step at a Time

    A few weeks later, Sarah returned to her OB-GYN for another anatomy ultrasound. As the ultrasound technician glided the probe on Sarah’s growing belly, she noticed something unusual on the monitor. “The ultrasound showed Wyatt had fluid in his brain,” said Sarah.

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  • Patient Brielle Grace with pacifier

    Brielle Grace’s Story: A Micro-Preemie’s Incredible Story of Survival

    At the time, Shamesia was only 18 weeks along. Although their baby’s heartbeat was strong, the amniotic fluid was too low for the baby’s lungs to develop during the critical period between 16 to 20 weeks’ gestation

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  • patient with flower crown

    Lindsay and Kendall’s Story: Finding help for their unborn baby’s spina bifida

    Their baby had spina bifida. A portion of her lower spinal cord was exposed. The long-term effects could be seizures, bowel and bladder control issues, and difficulty walking. She might also need a special shunt to regulate her brain’s fluid levels.

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  • Dr Oliver in scrubs

    Dr. Oliver’s Aneurysm

    When Tina Oliver had a sudden, severe headache, she knew she needed to get help fast.

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  • Patient with doctor

    Breast Cancer Patient and Daughter Treated by Same Physician Two Years Apart

    “I thought cancer skipped a generation.” These are the words Vernita Eddins spoke when she received her breast cancer diagnosis.

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  • Billy Mayo

    Male Breast Cancer: One Survivor Is Sharing His Experience in the Hopes That More Men Will Get Checked

    Breast cancer was never far from Billy Mayo’s mind. In 2018, his wife, Teresa, underwent treatment for breast cancer; the same disease killed her mother two decades earlier. But while he worried about the disease regularly, he never worried about getting it himself.

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  • Patient Jason Belin

    Firefighter Receives Leadless Pacemaker

    Jason Belin faces dangerous situations regularly. The 45-year-old Pearland resident works as a firefighter for the Houston Fire Department at Station 102 in Kingwood. But during a training session in June at the Department’s Fire Academy, Belin experienced something scarier than the situati...

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann success story, Justin Gordy, is back to fishing.

    Justin Gordy: Returning to the Outdoors

    “I began rehabilitation thinking I would not be able to do anything again, but that wasn’t true,” said Justin. “It’s about learning how to work through your limitations and find other ways to accomplish your goals.”

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  • patient Kayla Perry

    Kayla’s Story: Overcoming Health Challenges and a High-Risk Pregnancy

    Kayla’s pregnancy was considered high risk because she had several pre-existing medical conditions including gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and lupus, an inflammatory autoimmune disorder. Since she had gastric sleeve surgery, that also elevated h...

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  • Doctor and Patient

    72-Year-Old Not Slowing Down After Retzius-Sparing Surgery for Prostate Cancer

    Having a 50-year career in sales and marketing, Kriss Woodbury’s job is to get messages out to consumers. But it was a message from his physician that stopped him in his tracks—“You have prostate cancer.” Before the diagnosis, Woodbury didn’t have any symptoms. But a...

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  • Patient Carlos Miranda

    Defying the odds: Carlos’ story of courage, hope and resilience

    Carlos’ intraventricular hemorrhage (neonatal brain bleed) led to scarring in his brain from being born prematurely. The severe scarring and lack of blood flow to his brain tissue contributed to periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), a softening of the white brain tissue near the fluid-f...

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  • Doctor with patient

    Prostate Cancer Patient Now Cancer-Free After Radical Prostatectomy Using Robotic Technology

    Orain Penson was proactive in this health and enjoying life. As a facility director for a housing corporation, he also managed his A/C business on the side. He spent much of his days helping others. At 57, he thought he was too young to get prostate cancer.

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  • Natalia Guerrero

    Natalia’s Story: Highlighting Deaf Awareness Month

    While she was in the NICU being treated for her low blood sugar, Natalia also underwent all the standard newborn testing, including a newborn hearing screening. It was after that test when Zenia first learned there may be a problem with her daughter’s ability to ...

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  • Memorial Hermann Life Flight patient, Brian Bremser, stands near a life-saving helicopter.

    Frequent Flyers: In its 46th Year, Life Flight is Saving Lives. Sometimes the Same Life Twice.

    Most people go their whole lives without having the kind of catastrophic medical emergency that puts them in a Memorial Hermann Life Flight® helicopter. Brian Bremser has had two.

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  • Darrel smiling at camera

    Heart Attack Patient’s Wife Wasn’t Ready to be a Widow

    Darrel Sisson believed he was the picture of health. The 65-year-old north Houston resident had been lifting weights and doing aerobic exercise for 38 years, frequently rode his bike on 10- mile trips, meditated regularly and rarely took any medication. So, when he felt tired and not himself on t...

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  • Patient Mya

    Mya’s Story: Setting Her Sights on Big Dreams After Scoliosis Surgery

    After undergoing scoliosis surgery seven years ago at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital to treat a severe curvature in her spine followed by three months of healing and recovery – 21-year-old Mya Aguilar has overcome many challenges, and with her audacity and boldness, she is makin...

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  • Susan

    Transcarotid Artery Revascularization (TCAR) to Prevent Strokes

    “Mrs. Voss had a symptomatic severe stenosis in her right carotid artery, which was the source of her stroke,” Dr. Saqib said. “The severe blockage placed her at a higher risk of a recurrent stroke. We needed to intervene to prevent another, potentially severe, stroke. The highe...

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  • Patient Flora Sandt

    Miracle at the Children’s Heart Institute: Flora Sandt Avoids a Heart Transplant

    At the age of 5 months, Flora Sandt was already sitting and starting to roll, and she could push herself up on her belly and look around. She is the third child of Rebekkah and Justin Sandt, and based on their experience, she appeared to be meeting her developmental milestones. Then she caught a ...

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  • Ryder

    Ryder’s Story: Our Son’s Courageous Heart Journey

    When Falon was 23 weeks pregnant, she was very excited about her next ultrasound and couldn’t wait to catch a glimpse of Ryder on the ultrasound screen to see how much he had grown since his last anatomy scan. At first, things were going well. Then, the atmosphere in the room abruptly chan...

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  • Rehabilitation Hospital-Katy patient, Michelle Marko, smiles for the camera after rehabilitation.

    Michelle's Story: Back to the Classroom

    After sustaining an unlikely injury from a fall, Michelle learned that she had osteoporosis at 47. At Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital - Katy, she received the rehabilitation she needed to get back to teaching.

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  • Addie and Aniston

    Addie’s Story: From NICU Nurse to NICU Mom

    After being married for four years, Addie and Chase Adamek of Pearland were excited to learn that they were expecting in 2018. Addie was a NICU nurse at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center and Chase was a middle school PE teacher and coach. Ultrasound after ultr...

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  • Neal smiling

    Neal Wille’s Path to a Big Smile

    Three-year-old Neal Wille is among the one in 700 kids annually around the world born with a cleft lip and palate. Today, he’s a ball of smiles and sunshine when his parents bring him to see the Texas Cleft-Craniofacial Team for follow-up care after his surgeries that were performed at Chil...

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, Brandon Ray, plays his guitar and sings after recovery.

    Brandon's Story: Playing Music Once Again

    Shortly following a surgery, Brandon had several acute strokes. Although he survived, he lost his ability to walk, speak and, most importantly, to sing. But with the love of his wife and help from the specialists at TIRR Memorial Hermann, Brandon has found his voice again and is sharing it on sta...

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  • Mateo celebrating graduation

    Meet the Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital patient honoree for the Crohn’s and Colitis Walk in Houston

    On May 1, 2022, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation will be holding its Take Steps Walk and 17-year-old Mateo Skeete, a patient at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, will be this year’s patient honoree. 

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  • heart patient with family in hospital bed

    Heart Valve Procedure Restores Life

    On March 3 of this year, Simien, under general anesthesia, had a MitraClip device inserted through a catheter, or hollow tube, and threaded to his heart from the femoral artery in his groin. Using real-time images produced by ultrasound and X-ray technology in the catheterization lab at Memorial ...

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  • Kingston flexing at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital

    Thanks to Doctors Who Aim High, Kingston Murriel Has a Whole Heart and a Full Life

    A passion for innovative solutions, a desire to provide hope to children who previously had none, outside-the-box thinking, and quality outcomes – these are the hallmarks of the Children’s Heart Institute, a collaboration between Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and McGovern Medical School at...

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, Joleigh Babineaux, smiles for the camera.

    Joleigh's Story: Regaining Mobility after Guillain-Barré

    One-year-old Joleigh Babineaux went from running around and playing with her sister to being lethargic and no longer walking independently within a few short weeks. A diagnosis of Guillain-Barré led to customized treatment at TIRR Memorial Hermann.

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, Josetta Smith, and her husband enjoy an Aggies game.

    Josetta’s Story: Cheering on Her Team after Stroke

    “Josetta could not sit without falling over when she first came to inpatient rehabilitation, let alone stand, but she worked tirelessly to improve,” said Anne Gwinn, her inpatient physical therapist.

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  • Sutton with her toys

    Memorial Hermann Team Improves Outcomes for Pregnant Mother With High-Risk Complications Due to Gestational Diabetes and Preeclampsia

    Almost 4 years after her daughter, Sutton, was born, Joymesha Jones recalls her pregnancy, along with its challenges, like it was yesterday. As a 35-year-old expectant mother, her first and second trimesters flew by right on track. She knew about the potential risks due to her weight, but o...

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  • NewStart patient, Corelle Chester

    Corelle Chester: Weight Loss Surgery Saved My Life

    Corelle Chester says he felt fine—until he suffered a massive heart attack at age 39. “My heart doctor told me, ‘If you don’t get this weight off, you won’t live to see 50.’”

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  • Karen with her husband

    Hernia Repair Surgery Restores Normal Eating, Sleeping and Life

    For as long as she can remember, Karen Wanjura suffered from a burning discomfort in her upper abdomen after she ate. A common symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, the burning became a way of life that the 71-year-old resident of Cypress learned to accept. It was caused by a non-f...

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, Brook Toussaint, dons medical gear for school.

    Brook's Story: Returning to School after Limb Loss

    When Brook arrived at TIRR Memorial Hermann, the first thing we did was address the phantom pain she was experiencing, as well as her grief over losing a limb from a shark bite.

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  • After 2 months in the NICU, Laila is a healthy baby

    Improving the Long-Term Outcomes for Expectant Mothers With Pregnancy Related Complications

    During Black Maternal Health Week, we want to spotlight Ronnie Fisher, who despite several challenges throughout her pregnancy, had a safe delivery and recently welcomed a beautiful baby girl into this world.

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  • Victoria after surgery

    Victoria's Heart Transplant Story

    After suffering a heart attack at just 27 years old, Victoria Guajardo was placed in a medical coma and transported 330 miles to Houston, where doctors discovered both of her ventricles were failing. Watch the video to learn how doctors at the Larry D. Johnson Heart & Vascular Institute at Me...

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  • Khai' Mora smiling

    Khai’Mora’s Story: Mehta Casting Treatment for Infantile Scoliosis

    Latorree Garrett describes the first time she saw an X-ray of her daughter’s spine. “To me, it looked like a lizard,” she says. Despite the shock of seeing the severe curvature of her daughter’s spine, she was thankful to finally have a diagnosis for her daughter, now 2 ye...

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  • Red Duke Trauma Institute patient, Duane Clark, leans over to his wife.

    Duane's Story: Teamwork and Technology Shorten Time to Treatment for Stroke Victim

    As Clark’s CT brain scan and CT brain angiogram were automatically uploaded into the Viz.ai platform, the software, using artificial intelligence (AI) learning, detected the presence of a large vessel occlusion, or LVO, and alerted the entire stroke team to its presence.

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  • Himanshu smiling

    Himanshu’s Story: Novel Treatment for Hereditary Spastic Paraparesis

    A novel treatment approach at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital is giving 17-year-old Himanshu Prasad the opportunity to live life free of the muscle tightness and spasticity that has plagued him since birth.

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, Kristin Abello, looks back with a smile.

    Kristin's Story: Sharing Her Journey

    Kristin Abello knows that it takes commitment and perseverance to reach her goals. In 2002, she was training for a marathon near her home in Sugar Land, Texas, when she was hit by a car and suffered a severe brain injury. Her journey back to health was long, and she documented her experience in a...

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, Sandra Mora, enjoys a ride with her family.

    Sandra's Story: Working Toward Personal Goals

    Sandra Mora has had a series of personal goals she has been working towards as a patient at TIRR Memorial Hermann. She wanted to stand as a bridesmaid at a friend’s wedding as well as help her daughter prepare for her modeling jobs. Finally, she wanted to take her kids to Disney World. She has ch...

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  • Isabella’s Story: A Complex Neonatal Heart Patient and Her Mother’s Whole World

    Sweet Isabella was held by her mother Jessica for just a few moments before being whisked away for her first heart surgery at just 14 hours old. Born with pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum, half of Isabella’s heart was severely underdeveloped causing major issues with blood f...

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  • Family Travels from Mexico to Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital for Child's Brain Surgery

    When an MRI revealed a cyst causing pressure on 11-year-old Santiago Sanchez’s brain, doctors in Mexico City were unable to offer treatment options. The family’s search for treatment ultimately led them to Children’s Memorial Hermann-affiliated pediatric neurosurgeon, David Sand...

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, Hector Alvarez, carefully stacks dice as part of therapy.

    Hector's Story: Benefits from Paired Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Therapy

    After suffering a stroke in August 2017, Hector Alvarez started physical therapy at TIRR Memorial Hermann-The Woodlands Outpatient Rehabilitation.

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  • Brad Tippit takes a photograph with his Ops team at TIRR Memorial Hermann.

    Brad's Story: Helping a Hero

    As a detective with the Missouri City Police Department, Brad Tippit must be able to do all the physical activities that are an integral part of his job. However, after contracting COVID-19, he could not even walk.

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  • A portrait of Carrie Jobe, a TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, with her daughters and husband.

    Carrie's Story: Baking Her Cake and Eating it Too

    Wife, mom of two young daughters, and financial controller for a Fortune 100 company, Carrie Jobe is a self-proclaimed ‘working momma and boss lady.’ When a series of fainting spells led to a benign brain tumor diagnosis, she didn’t intend to let it slow her down for too long.

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  • Linda Norah-Davis smiles on while on the TIRR Memorial Hermann campus.

    Linda Norah-Davis: Patient and Research Participant

    Linda says she found a new passion when she began participating in research at TIRR Memorial Hermann – she understands how these studies are beneficial for patients.

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  • Jack Rieger leaves TIRR Memorial Hermann with family and friends.

    Lucky to Have Him: A Testimony from the Family of Jack Rieger

    Jack Rieger suffered a severe fall causing numerous injuries. After 9 months in UCLA intensive care, Jack was transferred to TIRR Memorial Hermann. From the therapy and education provided by the Disorders of Consciousness program, he was able to return safely home.

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  • Nolan Whisenant, a TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, is photographed with his family.

    Never Give Up: A Testimony from the Family of Nolan Whisenant

    Nolan had just graduated high school in 2016 when he was involved in a rollover auto accident. He was ejected from the vehicle and suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. Nolan had an all-star, rock-star-level health care team at TIRR Memorial Hermann. Dr. Sunil Kothari, TIRR Memorial Hermann D...

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  • Linda and Frank Marsters

    The Gift That Lasted a Lifetime, and Beyond

    Over the years, Linda, her husband, Frank H. Marsters, III, and their growing family would be the beneficiaries of many skilled and compassionate nurses at Fort Bend Hospital, which later became Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital.

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  • Susan Slovak, a TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, smiles while holding a child in her arms.

    Susan's Story: Moving Forward after Guillain-Barré Syndrome

    Susan received care as an inpatient at TIRR Memorial Hermann on two separate occasions and as a TIRR Memorial Hermann outpatient. Her large care team worked closely together to ensure continuity of her rehabilitation.

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  • Eric Smith, a TIRR Memorial Hermann patient, sits with his wife and dog in front of a Christmas tree.

    A Testimony from the Family of Eric Smith

    While in the hospital in Washington, Eric’s neurologist suggested that the family look into the Disorders of Consciousness (DoC) Program at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston. Two weeks post discharge in May of 2018, Eric and Cheryl boarded a plane and traveled to Houston.

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  • Sam Mills, LifeFlight patient, stands amongst families and clinicians after care with Memorial Hermann.

    Teen Who Survived being Ejected from Single Car Motor Vehicle Collision Returns to School

    Late last year, Sam Mills was living the carefree life of a teenager. However, the day after Christmas in 2020, the 17-year old’s life changed instantly, when he lost control of his car while heading home from work in Katy, Texas.

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  • Marrissa Miller, LifeFlight patient, stands with her family after recovery.

    Mother of Eight Survives Stroke Thanks to a Trauma System That Works

    Marrissa was transported from Memorial Hermann Cypress Hospital via Life Flight® to Memorial Hermann-TMC, an approximate 12-minute flight, where Dr. Blackburn stood by to perform a minimally invasive procedure to remove the clot that caused Miller’s stroke.

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  • Life Flight patient, Jackie Figueroa smiles from her hospital bed.

    Car Crash Victim Loses Pulses for Over 30 Minutes and Survives

    When EMS arrived, the 23-year-old Huntsville woman had an undetectable blood pressure, very little pulse and her body temperature was 81.7 degrees.

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  • Shawn Crockett and his family

    Shawn’s Story: Free From A Lifetime of Epileptic Seizures

    Thirty-five-year-old Shawn Crockett began having epileptic seizures when he was 6 months old. In second grade, his classmates watched in horror as he suffered a seizure that lasted more than four minutes, his skin turning blue from lack of oxygen. From that point forward, Shawn saw a neurologist ...

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  • Alshammari

    16-year-old Avoids Heart Transplant With Innovative Biventricular Conversion Procedure

    Rasheed Alshammari had been on the waiting list for a heart transplant at a California hospital for over a year. When the surgeon who was to perform the transplant left the hospital, Rasheed was removed from the list.

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  • Lavern Smith, a Life Flight patient, smiles for the camera.

    Direct-to-OR Protocol Instrumental in Saving Gunshot Victim’s Life

    In 2018, the Memorial Hermann Red Duke Trauma Institute implemented a new process which enables eligible patients to be taken straight from the Memorial Hermann Life Flight® helipad to the trauma OR, bypassing the hospital’s Emergency Center. This process, was instrumental in saving the life of a...

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  • Don Pannell: Cancer-Free Following Innovative Robotic Prostatectomy

    In the beginning, Don Pannell exhibited no obvious signs of prostate cancer. He had no issues with urination. No pain. And no family history of the disease.

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  • Cancer Survivor Peggy Setliff

    Peggy’s Story: Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia

    In May 2019, Peggy Setliff had her first 3-D mammogram following a 4-year lapse in annual mammograms."My younger sister was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 54, and my father died of three different forms of cancer," says the 66-year-old, who works at Memorial Hermann-TMC. "I had become lackad...

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  • Karen Cole with Dr. Hook

    Treatment for Metaplastic Breast Cancer Dramatically Improves Patient’s Quality of Life

    When Karen Cole finally sought medical care for the tumor growing in her right breast, the tumor measured 24 centimeters and weighed nearly 10 pounds. “I called it my monster,” says the petite 58-year-old from Montgomery, Texas. “I knew it was killing me, but I was upset and pan...

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  • Troy Griffin with doctor

    Multimodal Treatment of Aggressive Prostate Cancer in 58-Year-Old

    During a routine physical in November 2020, 58-year-old Troy Griffin mentioned to his family doctor that he had been experiencing some minor urinary symptoms—a little stopping and starting of his urine stream and a bit of urinary urgency and frequency. His doctor performed a PSA test, which...

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  • Spinal Cord Injury patient Abbi Evans dons a prom dress following successful rehabilitation.

    Abbi's Story: Dancing After Spinal Cord Injury

    When Abbi first arrived at TIRR Memorial Hermann, she had mild weakness in her legs, patchy sensation in her legs, painful numbness and tingling in her legs, and difficulty with maintaining her blood pressure when sitting and standing because of her spinal cord injury from her tumor.

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  • Myford Collins, and Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation patient, smiles for the camera.

    Myford's Story: Creating Success after Spinal Cord Injury

    Myford Collins set numerous track and field records in junior high and high school and was a Texas All-Star, an All-American and an Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics champion headed for the Olympics. Then, as an 18-year-old freshman in Irving, Texas, his life changed when a drunk driver ran ...

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  • Mason Mims

    Mason Mims: A Normal, Whole Heart and a Bright Future

    Karen and Taylor Mims spent the first six years of their son’s life trying to accept the fact that he was born with half a heart and would eventually require a heart transplant. Now, thanks to an innovative procedure being performed by affiliated pediatric heart surgeons at Children’s...

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  • Grant has been able to resume traveling now that his gallbladder troubles are behind him.

    Grant's Story: Back on His Feet After Minimally Invasive Gallbladder Surgery

    Grant had been staying with his parents at their Katy home because the power was out at his Houston apartment when he suffered a severe gallbladder attack. “I had been having gallbladder trouble for over a year, and my gastroenterologist had recommended I get a surgery consult to have my gallbla...

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  • A Double Diagnosis of Brain and Lung Cancer

    Natascha Odom thought she might be coming down with COVID-19 when she began having trouble finding the right words. The 49-year-old fourth grade math teacher at Hubenak Elementary School in Richmond told a colleague who took her to see the school nurse. When Odom told the nurse that the curren...

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  • Baby Sleeping

    Carter’s Story: Multidisciplinary Team Treats Newborn with Rare Congenital Tumor

    At Sarah’s 16-week ultrasound, her obstetrician explained that one of the babies she was carrying had a 2- to 3-centimeter mass at the base of his tailbone. The doctor explained that the baby had a sacrococcygeal teratoma (SCT), a tumor growing at the base of his tailbone. SCT is a rare condition...

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  • Young stroke patient, Major Hudlin, poses for a photo.

    Major's Story: Young Stroke Patient Returns to Family, Friends and Fun

    Major Hudlin is a vibrant, active 7-year-old boy who loves to make TikTok videos and play outside with his siblings. So when his grandmother picked him up from daycare one day and realized that he was not lifting his right arm or moving the fingers on that hand, she became alarmed.

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  • Baby Lily Nail

    Lily Nail Celebrates Independence from Spina Bifida

    Hailee Nail learned her baby had spina bifida on Aug. 13, 2020, when she saw her obstetrician in Tulsa, Okla., for her 20-week anatomy scan. “My OB/GYN told me that it would require surgery and gave me the names of several centers, but he wanted me to go to Houston,” she says.

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  • Matthew Alvarez at birthday party

    Matthew Alvarez: Donor Kidney Gives Infant a Bright Future

    Pamela Alvarez exudes gratitude. Like most parents, she and her husband, Mike, are grateful to have healthy children, but the couple are also eternally grateful for the generous kidney donor who gave their younger son, Matthew, a second chance.

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  • David grown up and healthy

    Derek Hackworth: Infant Thriving One Year After Kidney Transplant

    In April 2020, Keisha Howell and David Hackworth got the call they’d been waiting for. “It was about 11 o’clock at night, and a nurse from the Transplant Center called and said, ‘We have a match for Derek.’ I packed up Derek and headed straight there,” says Keisha.

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  • Faizbano Rayani smiles, standing by her work desk adorned with letters and pictures.

    Faizbano Rayani: Back at Work After Auto Accident

    After the jaws of life extracted Faizbano from her vehicle, an ambulance took her to Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital. She had a cut on her head and had fractured several vertebrae in her back. As an employee of Memorial Hermann, she knew she was in good hands.

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  • Daniel Begnaud

    Young Dad Beats Colon Cancer, Welcomes Second Child

    In 2017, Daniel Begnaud’s world as he knew it came crashing down when he was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer at the age of 30. A father of a 1-year-old son, he was initially told that it was unlikely he would ever have more children. On top of a cancer diagnosis, that was a hard pill to swal...

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  • Darryn Hurt

    Darryn’s Story: A Gender-Affirming Transition

    It’s something most people take for granted: the ability to just be who you are in public. But for Darryn Hurt, it was a constant struggle. Knowing he was born in the wrong body, Darryn never felt like he fit in. After five years of testosterone therapy and 12 months of psychological counse...

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann brain injury patient Corey Nowlin

    Corey Nowlin: Learning to Communicate

    In April 2020, Corey Nowlin suffered a severe head injury. Today, thanks to the TIRR Memorial Hermann’s Disorders of Consciousness program, he’s able to communicate again.

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann brain injury patient Emily Claire Jackson returns to snow skiing.

    Emily Claire: Back on the Slopes

    Emily Claire Jackson Sanders has been skiing since she was old enough to walk. Her father enjoys taking his wife and three daughters to Steamboat Springs, CO to ski during the winter months. So it was unusual when 20-year-old Emily did not come down the mountain one evening while skiing with her ...

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  • TIRR Memorial Hermann brain injury patient Anthony Velasquez

    Anthony: Working Hard In and Out of the Classroom

    When the final bell of the day rang, 18-year-old Anthony Velasquez walked out of his high school just as he had on every other day. It was October 2019, and he was one of a group of teens crossing the street adjacent to his school when a car unexpectedly drove around a school bus and hit Anthony....

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  • Walter smiling while walking

    Redefining Wholeheartedness: Faith, Hope and a Nontraditional Approach Save Newborn’s Life

    Kemberlee Burgert's baby was diagnosed with Ebstein anomaly, a rare congenital heart defect in which the tricuspid valve, the valve between the upper right chamber (right atrium) and the lower right chamber (right ventricle), isn’t formed properly, allowing blood to leak back into the right atriu...

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  • Twins Camryn and Morgan pose together

    Camryn and Morgan: Identical Again

    At her 8-week maternity check-up, Chanelle Smith and her husband, Patrick, were surprised and delighted to learn that Chanelle was carrying identical twins. At 28 weeks, Dr. Ramos identified a small hole in the heart of one of the babies. Additional tests revealed that the baby suffered from a co...

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  • David playing soccer

    David’s Story: Freedom from IV Nutrition

    Eight-year-old David Martinez is finally free of the intravenous (IV) tube through which he has received essential nourishment since birth. His team of physicians at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and Children’s Memorial Hermann Hosp...

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  • A COVID patient using assistive technology

    Grant Lashley's Long Road Back from COVID-19

    Emergency medicine physician Grant Lashley, MD, is among the many healthcare professionals who contracted COVID-19 while treating patients during the United States’ first wave of virus cases in April 2020. While working the night shift in the emergency department at Abbeville General Hospit...

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  • Thom Knapp

    Thom's Story: The Healing Touch

    Thom Knapp's career was put on hold as his leg became severely infected and he had to be hospitalized at Memorial Hermann facilities. Thom was first hospitalized for approximately 5 days at Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital, where his diabetes was treated and it was determined that he had a severe i...

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  • Pohla Family portrait

    Pohla Boys Thrive Despite Mitochondrial Disease

    Melody and Doug Pohla have much to be proud of and thankful for. Their three sons, Nicholas, 17, Nathan, 15, and Daniel, 12, are all bright, active and extremely accomplished young men, each in his own right. Their firstborn, Nicholas, earned his first Tae Kwando black belt when we was 8 years ol...

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  • Karen Echols

    Karen Echols: The Warning Signs Were There

    Karen Echols doesn’t mince words: “I think a lot of people don’t like to talk about their poop.” The 52-year-old Houston hairdresser and mother of three, now a rectal cancer survivor, says she knows a lot about poop. But because she kept ignoring the warning signs, she came by that knowledge the ...

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  • Anthony Antwine using a walker as he regains mobility

    Anthony: Taking a Victory Lap

    A spinal cord injury that started as a tingling sensation in his fingers quickly developed into numbness and immobility in his legs. After diagnosis and rehabilitation with Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital - Katy, Anthony has returned home and is walking again.

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  • Ruben enjoying the out doors following rehabilitation

    Ruben: Returning to the Great Outdoors

    The scenery was stunning—waterfalls and streams created an ideal site for hiking. Ruben Menchaca had always loved camping and being out in nature, but this time something was wrong. His lower back was hurting, and not letting up. He thought it was from the long drive he and his wife took in...

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  • Andrew outside smiling

    Andrew’s Story: Team Approach Cures Rare Lung Defect

    When their unborn son was diagnosed with a rare and potentially life-threatening congenital birth defect, Carrie and Jordan Farrar knew they needed to find the experts, and fast. Fortunately, the couple from Tyler, Texas, was referred to The Fetal Center at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. T...

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  • Edgar Venson during rehabilitation

    Edgar Venson: Back in the Saddle

    When a stroke threatened to take away Edgar’s ability to ride his horse or strum his guitar, he turned to Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital – Katy. In February 2018, Edgar was at home in Sealy, Texas, getting into bed for the night when he began feeling a tingling sensation in ...

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  • CDH Patient Aryah and Mom

    Aryah’s CDH Story: Thriving at 4

    Aryah plays basketball. She cheerleads. She rides horses. She jumps on the trampoline and loves water slides. “She’s ahead of the curve for her age,” says Courtney. But that wasn’t always the case. Before Aryah was born, Courtney and her husband, Robert, learned that their baby had congenital dia...

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  • Dr. Garza in OR

    Michael’s Story: Minimally Invasive Hernia Repair

    Looking back, Michael wonders why he waited so long to have his abdominal hernia repaired. An avid hiker and hunter, the 60-year-old Houstonian somehow managed to work around it—for 10 years. “It wasn’t particularly painful, but after being on my feet all day hiking or hunting, it felt like if so...

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  • Kristy Martin

    Kristy Martin: Atypical Presentation of Acute Myeloid Leukemia

    “My whole life changed. Everything changed,” she says. “But it has been such a positive journey. It made me realize what’s important and what’s not. Everyone worked together. It all worked out.”

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  • Lewis on stage after rehabilitation

    Lewis: Back on Stage Making Music

    After retiring in 2017, Lewis Frey turned his part-time love of playing his guitar, into a full-time job. He had regular gigs around the Houston area, and he and his band were enjoying entertaining their audiences. But, in June 2019 he had a stroke which put a pause in his playing. After his inpa...

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  • Phil Eaton with doctor and physical therapist at TIRR Memorial Hermann

    Phil Eaton: Road to Recovery

    In March 2020, high school principal Phil Eaton was admitted to Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center with pneumonia. A short time later, he was diagnosed with COVID-19. His condition became serious, and he spent 21 days on a ventilator. After being discharged from acute care, Phil was ex...

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  • Cathy Flowers Thumbnail

    Cathy's Story: Stroke Rehabilitation

    After having a stroke and being rushed into surgery to remove a large portion of her skull to allow for brain swelling, Cathy was accepted into TIRR Memorial Hermann for rehabilitation.

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  • Dugger Family poses together

    To Grief and Back: Joy, Heartbreak and Gratitude in the Dugger Family

    Christine and Blake Dugger learned they were pregnant with twins in December, 2017. “The entire pregnancy was a surprise,” Christine Dugger says. “We have two older daughters, who were six and three at the time, and we were very much not planning on having more children, but whe...

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  • Sophia Smiling

    Sophia’s Story: Growth Modulation to Correct Bowed Legs

    When Sophia was 6 or 7, her knees started to bow. At around age 8, she began experiencing knee and ankle pain. That’s when Leanne took her to see Dr. Younas, a pediatric orthopedic and scoliosis surgeon affiliated with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and an associate professor in the Departm...

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  • Read about Kevins Story Hometown Care

    Kevin's Story: Hometown Care

    Knowing that patients and their families prefer to receive medical care in their hometown, Brant Lipscomb, M.D., a Memorial Hermann-affiliated orthopedic surgeon and team physician for The Woodlands High School (TWHS), rode home with TWHS football player Kevin Butts and his family after Kevin was...

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  • Karl Keul

    Knee Replacement Surgery Gets Karl Back on the Golf Course

    After knee replacement surgery, Karl was surprised how much his knee pain had diminished. He attributes this to the pre-surgery protocol that Dr. Mathis follows — taking pain medications, etc. Once he got through the eight weeks of physical therapy, Karl’s mobility increased considerably and he s...

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  • Joseph Park

    Joseph Park: Advanced Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Early Stage Lung Cancer

    When 78-year-old Joseph Park was diagnosed with stage IB non-small cell lung cancer in December 2019, members of Memorial Hermann’s multidisciplinary tumor board met to discuss his case and treatment options. Despite being in generally good health, Park has a history of smoking—he says he quit w...

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  • Jaclyn Pelicotte smiling in front of a fountain

    Jaclyn Pellicotte: Small Steps Toward Her Goals

    When Jaclyn was admitted to the TIRR Memorial Hermann Disorders of Consciousness (DoC) Program, she was not responding to any commands. But the first thing the therapist said when she arrived at TIRR Memorial Hermann was, ‘we’re going to get her up.’ At that point Jaclyn had bee...

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  • Bryan Durham with Dr. Jyothula

    Multidisciplinary Approach Gives Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) Patient a New Chance

    Houston Deputy Sheriff Bryan Durham recalls the day he first felt something was wrong. “I was arresting a suspect who had become combative. I wrestled him for about 30 seconds to get him into handcuffs, and it felt like I had fought for an hour. After I subdued him, I couldn’t catch m...

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  • Gages

    Gage's Story: Pectus Surgery Puts Basketball Star Back on the Court

    Gage Hulse is having the time of his life. The 19-year-old basketball star from Huffman, Texas, recently graduated from high school and is college bound on a full-ride athletic scholarship. During his senior year, he led his team, the Huffman Falcons, to a record-breaking season and a district ch...

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  • The Lee Family's Story

    After visiting Mr. Lee's Pearland convenience store one morning, as he had every day for 16 years, Officer Castillo noticed Mr. Lee didn't greet him as normal. As Officer Castillo turned the corner, he saw Mr. Lee laying on the ground bleeding from his head. "I told him to hang in there as the m...

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  • Andrea Cain

    Early Detection of Tubular Breast Carcinoma Saves Andrea Cain’s Life

    Women who get routine mammograms know the drill: Before the exam, you’re typically asked if you have experienced any changes in your breasts—including pain or changes in appearance—since your last mammogram. Those questions prompted 55-year-old Middle School Principal Andrea Deneé Cain to recall ...

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  • Cason Cox

    Cason's Story: Boy Born With Half A Heart Undergoes Innovative Procedure Giving Him A Normal Heart

    During her 20-week ultrasound, Savannah’s obstetrician diagnosed that her unborn baby’s heart was abnormally small and referred her to a maternal fetal medicine specialist. The specialist ordered a dedicated fetal echocardiogram (“echo”), a specialized ultrasound of the fe...

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  • Tonjanic and family

    Pregnant Mother Placed on Bedrest at 14 Weeks Delivers Twin Rainbow Babies at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital

    After a heartbreaking loss of her first baby at 19 weeks’ gestation in 2017, Tonjanic Hill, 31, was excited but apprehensive when she became pregnant again two years later…with not one baby, but two! She understood that it wouldn’t be an easy road, and in her second trimester, ...

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  • Oscar Botello

    Quieting a Traumatic Cardiac Storm

    The team rushed Oscar to the heart catheterization lab to clear the blockages in the stent. But scar tissue from the heart attack had begun to form on his heart and he developed life-threatening arrhythmias called a ventricular tachycardia storm, basically, a severe electrical storm in his hea...

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  • Aubree Ford

    Aubree Ford: Positive Steps Towards Independence

    Aubree was diagnosed as a baby with spastic triplegic cerebral palsy. In her case, both her legs and her left arm had spasticity – a condition that made her affected limbs rigid and stiff. Because of the spasticity, Aubree has had physical therapy since she was a baby to help manage it. She has n...

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  • Dyane and Garrett

    A Couple’s Determination - Dyane and Garrett's Story

    As participants in the Memorial Hermann's NewStart program, Dynae and Garrett each lost 120lbs with NewStart. That's a combined 240 pounds. "Doing it as a team made it so much easier. You're going to get just a better quality of life and certainly a longer and happier life as a result of it. Why ...

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  • Read about Breast Cancer Survivor Skips Chemotherapy

    Breast Cancer Survivor Skips Chemotherapy

    Sonya Lira has a strong family history of multiple cancers, but when she was tested for genetic mutations that might be linked to her breast cancer, there were none. “We did comprehensive genetic testing involving a complete gene sequencing of her DNA, testing for all known mutations,&rdquo...

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  • Ayala Gustov

    Double Total Knee Replacement Now I Can Enjoy More Family Fun

    “My life turned around dramatically after total knee replacement surgery on both knees,” explains Gustavo Ayala, MD, who had the procedure done on both knees at the same time. Over a six-month period, Dr. Ayala’s condition worsened from experiencing moderate pain to battlin...

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  • Grayson Guice

    Gray’s Story: Flawless Teamwork Saves 3-Year-Old Trauma Patient’s Life

    What began as a typical weekday evening for the Guice family of Atascocita, Texas, almost became one of unimaginable loss when 3-year-old Grayson “Gray” slipped in the bathroom onto a ceramic trash can and was impaled by a broken shard. An injury of this magnitude could easily have co...

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  • Grayson

    Grayson’s Story: Staying Ahead of Type 1 Diabetes

    Thirteen-year-old Grayson likes typical kid things – basketball, taekwondo, running, pizza and birthday cake. For Grayson, these things, which a “typical” kid might take for granted, carry a potential danger. Without proactive management of his insulin intake, too much physical exertion can send ...

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  • River Rasmussen with Aryia and his therapist

    River Rasmussen: A Family Finds Hope

    After an automobile accident left him bedridden and unresponsive, River's sister found hope for him with the TIRR Memorial Hermann Disorders of Consciousness Rehabilitation Program.

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  • Mila Grace

    Mila Grace: The Little Smile Monster

    When Natalie’s unborn baby daughter, Mila Grace, was diagnosed with spina bifida in utero, Natalie and her husband, Kevin, were stunned. After a routine ultrasound done just a week earlier, her obstetrician suspected that one of Mila Grace’s feet was clubbed and referred Natalie to a ...

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  • Caleb Cante

    Caleb’s Story: Successful Emergency Surgery for Obstructed Pulmonary Vein

    A well-orchestrated chain of events saved the life of Caleb, a newborn with a rare and very serious congenital (present at birth) heart defect. Fortunately, that chain was populated by an experienced and collaborative team who worked together seamlessly to diagnose, transport and treat the baby. ...

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  • Doc Monical with fish

    Grateful to Be Pain-Free, Doc Enjoys Hunting and Fishing

    Doc Monical (“Doc”) returned from a fun four-day cruise early in 2018 with more than great memories of scenic adventures: the pain in his left leg was getting more severe. “The pain in my leg from sciatica was worse,” he recalls, “and I needed to find a solution.” Sciatica is a term that describe...

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  • Angel Marie Fields

    Surviving Breast Cancer at a Young Age Angel Marie Fields Moves on to Help Others

    Angel Marie Fields was out with friends when she noticed that her chest felt tight and heavy. She felt a lump but did not give it much attention. After all, she was only 26. When she checked it again later, it felt like one big lump. She made an appointment with her ob-gyn, Hany Ahmed, MD, w...

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  • David Beck

    Saving a Linguist's Tongue

    In summer of 2017, Beck had what he thought was a canker sore that was not healing. His dentist examined it and advised him to see a specialist for a biopsy if it didn’t heal in a couple of weeks. After a biopsy that fall, he learned he had stage 2 carcinoma of the tongue and was referred t...

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  • Lexi

    Lexi’s Story: Bouncing back from a Shattered Femur

    A double bounce on a trampoline at her brother’s birthday party sent 11-year-old Lexi spiraling out of control, landing hard on her right leg. Thankfully, Lexi would end up in the skilled hands of Lindsay Crawford, MD, an affiliated pediatric orthopedic surgeon at McGovern Medical School at UTHea...

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  • Chadrick

    Chadrick’s Story Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis

    Fourteen-year-old Chadrick, who plays outside linebacker for his school’s football team, struggled with hip soreness and stiffness for months, especially when engaging in physical activities. He took anti-inflammatories and iced his hip, but the pain and stiffness kept coming back. When his fathe...

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  • Cameron

    Cameron’s Story: Multidisciplinary Team Supports Boy on His Long Journey of Healing

    Cameron is on the “A” honor roll in his fifth-grade class, a significant achievement for any kid. Cameron is not just any kid. He is a survivor. At 10 years of age, Cameron has already undergone 24 surgical procedures. Cameron was diagnosed with an extremely rare genetic condition known as Mandib...

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  • Edna Doberson

    Edna Doberson: Support Means Everything

    A few years ago, Edna Doberson began to feel tired and immediately knew something was wrong. Edna was referred to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center where a thorough evaluation diagnosed her with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)/interstitial lung disease, and she was shocked to learn she ne...

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  • Gerrie Sullivan smiling

    Gerrie's Story: Pain Management Keeps Spine Surgery at Bay

    After being told she would not be able to walk within a year without back surgery, retired nurse Geraldine “Gerrie” Sullivan sought a second opinion and found neuroradiologist and pain management specialist John Beerbower, MD. With Dr. Beerbower’s help, she is not only walking, ...

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  • Brenda Longoria holding jeans

    New Year, New Body: A Life-Changing Weight Loss Story

    In 2012, Brenda received her first wake-up call that she had to make a change when she was diagnosed with high blood pressure. Doctors prescribed her with medication to help with her diagnosis. However, her weight, a risk factor of high blood pressure, continued to be an issue.

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  • Camden Daniel with medal

    Camden’s Story: Surgical Correction for Pectus

    After year's of different diagnoses, Camden's breathing and chest pains were worsening until the doctors at Children's Memorial Hermann stepped in and got him the diagnosis and treatment he needed. Camden was diagnosed with pectus excavatum, also known as funnel chest, the most common congenital ...

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  • Mina Margraf

    Mina’s Story: Teen Gymnast Overcomes Vascular Anomaly

    Fourteen-year-old Mina is a champion. Every day, she overcomes obstacles to pursue her lifelong goal of becoming a world-class gymnast. But recently, despite her hard work and fierce determination to be the best, Mina almost met her match. Mina was born with a venous malformation on her right che...

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  • Salazar Gant Family

    Hayes’ Story: Supravalvular Aortic Stenosis

    Hayes appeared to be a perfectly healthy newborn. Three hours after birth, however, a nurse who was listening to his heart through a stethoscope heard an abnormal heart sound – a heart murmur – indicating a possible heart problem. A cardiologist ordered an echocardiogram (diagnostic cardiac ultra...

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  • Adan Rios

    Adan's Story: From Treating Patients to Becoming One

    When Dr. Adan Rios was diagnosed with cancer, his physician, Dr. Karni, knew it was deeply personal. One morning, Adan woke up with the left side of his neck completely swollen and assumed he had developed a lymphoma. A biopsy revealed that it was sqaumous cell cancer. The next steps were imaging...

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  • Baby Aryah

    Aryah’s CDH Story: The First FETO Intervention Patient of The Fetal Center

    Courtney and Robert both remember the feeling of pure joy in January 2016 when finding out they were pregnant with their second child – a baby girl – after three years of trying. Their happiness soon gave way to worry, though, when Courtney’s obstetrician said her ultrasound sca...

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  • Sailors Family

    Pregnant after 40: Jennifer’s Story

    As fall of 2011 approached, Jennifer Sailors was 40 years old and in the prime of her life. Between working and having a family, Jennifer was busy, but she was used to that. Then one day, she realized she was feeling run-down. “I thought, gosh I’m really tired,” she remembers. &...

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  • Jacob and Leah Yeglin

    A Smile So Sweet: Jacob’s Cleft Lip Story

    On April 21, 2014, Leah Yeglin gave birth to her son, Jacob. Moments later, she began to sense something was wrong – and soon learned her intuition was right. A nurse informed her that Jacob had a cleft lip but, thankfully, was otherwise healthy. “It was a shock,” Yeglin remembers. “I thought tha...

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  • Mya Aguilar

    Bending the Curve: Mya’s Scoliosis Story

    It was November 2014, and Mya Aguilar was three months into her eighth-grade year. She had been called down to the school nurse for an annual checkup. When the school nurse asked Mya to bend over and touch her toes, she noticed something wrong with the eighth-grader’s back. Mya’s mother, Geneva A...

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  • Gavin Sager

    Filling the Gaps: Gavin’s CDH Story

    Amy Sager was 20 weeks pregnant with her second child when, during a routine ultrasound, she found out she was carrying a boy. But for Sager and her husband, Kevin, what should have been a joyous moment soon gave way to concern. The baby’s heart, the obstetrician informed them, was pushed to the ...

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  • Dylan

    Off His Chest: Dylan’s Pectus Story

    Being a teenager is often difficult and confusing. For Dylan Palomino, that was compounded by his discovery, at age 14, that he had the genetic condition known as pectus excavatum, which causes the breastbone to sink into the chest, sometimes dramatically. “I was in junior high, a time when you’r...

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  • Laura and Max

    Max’s Story: Little Patients – More Than Just Small Adults

    It was 6 a.m. on a summer morning when it happened: 3-year-old Max Mullervy, asleep next to his mother, Laura, rolled off the bed. He missed the cushions she had placed on the floor, and on the way down, hit his eye on the side table. Max’s scream woke his mom with a start. “It was a ...

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  • Lauren at ballet

    Sticky Situation: When Glue Fixes a Brain and Saves a Life

    When a very rare brain condition caused fourth-grader Lauren Lackey to slip into a coma, her parents, Sandy and Mark Lackey hate to think what would have happened to their daughter if the ambulance had not made the long drive to Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. Mark remembers feeling i...

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  • Chloe

    Chloe's Journey With Dysautonomia

    Chloe spent months in the offices of a local neurologist and neurosurgeon as they tried to determine what was wrong. Finally, one of them referred her to Dr. Ian Butler, a pediatric neurologist affiliated with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, about her many health concerns: headaches, lack o...

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  • Dr. Mary Austin in surgery

    A Surgeon’s Secret: As She Operated on Babies’ Birth Defects, a Doctor Hid Her Own Diagnosis

    For many years, Dr. Mary Austin could count on one hand the people who knew. There was her close friend through middle school, who helped her pee by pushing on her lower abdomen. Years later, during her surgical training at Vanderbilt University, she confided in a mentor. Her husband knew, of cou...

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  • Wesley Robertson

    Finally at Ease: A Remarkable Surgery Cures a 3-Month-Old Baby with Epilepsy

    By the time he was 3 months old, Wesley’s seizures were occurring up to 55 times a day — every minute or two while he was awake, and every 10 to 15 minutes when he slept. His doctor prescribed him nine different medications over the course of three months, but none provided long-lasting relief. D...

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  • Elizabeth Andrew

    Lizzy’s NICU Stay: The Bright Spot in a Dark Cloud

    Meghann had planned a natural home birth for her first child, Elizabeth Caroline (“Lizzy”). When she started having abdominal pains at 23 weeks, her midwife ordered lab tests that came back normal. A week before Lizzy was born on January 18, 2013, severe abdominal pain sent Meghann to...

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  • Andrea

    Andrea: An Unusual Brain Tumor

    When Andrea was 15, a CT scan showed an unusually large, dense mass in the back part of her brain - with a buildup of fluid. The imaging study revealed an unusually large, dense mass in the posterior fossa - the lower back of the skull containing the brain stem and cerebellum- with obstructive hy...

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  • Figueroa Sisters

    Iris’ Story: MoMo Twins Survive Rollercoaster Start

    When Iris finally got her wish, an ultrasound revealed not one, but two heartbeats. Twins. Identical twins, in fact. Iris and her husband were elated. But the ultrasound indicated a potential problem, and her doctor referred her to The Fetal Center at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital.&n...

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  • Michael Cassidy

    Life Flight Key to Young Father's Survival After Horrific Motorcycle Crash

    Michael Cassidy was cruising home on his motorcycle after proudly passing a welding exam. That is when his life changed forever. Without warning, the back wheel of the motorcycle spun out, and Michael, 25, lost control. Incredibly, among the handful of people who had witnessed the accident were t...

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  • Lisa and horse

    Lisa's Story: Total Hip Replacement

    Lisa - who had been an avid equestrian all her life - shares the story of her struggle with hip displaysia, and how the pain from it nearly forced her to give up her passion. Lisa was left devastated after the pain became too much to bear, but found hope again after learning about joint replaceme...

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  • Read about Endoscopic Management Sagittal Craniosynostosis

    Endoscopic Management of Sagittal Craniosynostosis

    A rare condition that occurs in 1 in 2,500 babies born in the United States, craniosynostosis changes the growth pattern of the skull by premature fusion of its fibrous sutures. Robert is among the 40% to 60% of cases in which the sagittal suture fuses earlier than normal. Thanks to his mother’s ...

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  • Dr. Sandberg in surgery

    Treating a Life-Threatening Brain Injury: From Life Flight to OR Table in Nine Minutes

    A small bump on the head during a game at his elementary school in Lufkin, Texas – at first Landon Courtney’s injury seemed minor. The seven-year-old was playing four corners in his P.E. class in early March 2016 when his feet got tangled with a classmate’s. He fell to the gym f...

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  • Harper Lowery

    Pediatric Hydrocephalus: Another Infant Avoids a Shunt

    Harper Lowery was born prematurely at 29 weeks 6 days, the larger of fraternal twins. A cranial ultrasound performed at 10 days of life revealed a bilateral intraventricular hemorrhage. With blood clots blocking the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), Harper’s head began to enlarge to accomm...

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  • Read about George Grabowski Heart Story

    Saving George Grabowski's Heart

    George Grabowski, PhD, a physically active 64-year-old, is among those who benefited from the minimally invasive option. Last August, his internist Clifford Yut, MD, heard a heart murmur and referred Dr. Grabowski to Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital for an echocardiogram. A diagnosis of se...

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  • Luis Perez

    Luis' Story: Management of Type B Aortic Dissection

    Forty-six-year-old Luis Perez was driving with a friend on a Saturday night when he felt a small pain and a sensation of pressure in his middle upper back. He pulled over, called 911, and was immediately rushed to nearby Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital and immediately transferred to the Larry...

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  • Noah Charles

    Noah's Story: Acute Appendicitis

    When 9-year-old Noah complained of a stomachache, his mother, Susan, attributed it to everything he ate the day before. A few days later Noah went to a pediatrician, who took one look at Noah, touched his stomach and sent them straight to the nearest ER at Memorial Hermann Sugar Land. There, a CT...

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  • Faith Hagler

    Faith Hagler Five Years Later: Celebrating Independence from Spina Bifida

    Picture the bounciest, bubbliest five-year-old you can imagine. Her songs and dance moves come straight from Beyoncé. She loves bright colors and runs to the mirror to check every outfit. Her goal is to be a superstar. And she is a child who was born with spina bifida, one whose immediate future ...

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  • Read about Game Changing Weight Loss Surgery

    Nick Bone: Game-Changing Weight Loss Surgery

    After tipping the scale at more than 400 pounds -- from years of fast food, sweets and a sedentary lifestyle -- Bone said he knew it was time to make some drastic changes with his weight. A family member had success with the gastric sleeve procedure, so Bone decided to give it a try. Before the s...

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  • Read about Monica Stark

    Monica Stark: A Hunger for Normalcy

    After emergency surgery to remove most of her esophagus, Monica Stark had no idea it would be nearly a year before she could eat solid foods. The lifesaving surgery, performed in April 2016 in San Antonio, resulted from complications caused by scleroderma, a rare connective tissue disease that af...

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  • Read about Jimmy Fincher

    Jimmy Fincher: Onward with an Active Life

    Licensed Texas peace officer Jimmy Fincher struggled, for 15 years, with acid reflux caused by a hiatal hernia. With an aversion to taking medication, he inconsistently took the antacids prescribed to lower his stomach acid even when experiencing debilitating abdominal pain after eating large mea...

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  • Read about Robert Vasquez Esophageal Cancer Recovery

    Robert Vasquez Esophageal Cancer Recovery

    Robert visited Farzaneh Banki, M.D., director of the Esophageal Disease Center at Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital and professor of surgery at the McGovern Medical School, part of UTHealth in Houston.

    A lifelong machinist, Robert remembers being nervous because the surgery to treat his ...

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  • Read about Ciaran Simon

    Ciaran Simon: A New Lease on Life

    Ciaran Simon always discounted his heartburn as sensitivity to spicy food. It was not until his symptoms became debilitating that he sought medical attention. Ciaran underwent a laparoscopic Heller myotomy and a Dor fundoplication, a minimally invasive surgical procedure in which the muscle betwe...

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  • Dylan Pugh

    Dylan Pugh: In the Best Hands

    Dylan Pugh remembers working that day, coming home and going out again to meet friends. On the drive home later that night, he swerved to avoid an oncoming car and his one-ton Chevy Silverado Duramax left the road, hit a ditch, went airborne and slammed into a tree. The crash occurred on Sept. 29...

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  • Anthony Vallone

    Anthony Vallone: Without Stopping

    After a devastating automobile accident that nearly took his life, Anthony Vallone is back at work at Shell Trading with barely a limp, thanks to his strength of character, a supportive family and the orthopedic trauma team at the Memorial Hermann Red Duke Trauma Institute. “I have nothing ...

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  • Brian Southwell

    Brian Southwell: A Walking Miracle

    After working his usual night shift on a Tuesday, and then the day shift the following Thursday, Brian Southwell was lying in bed in the wee hours of the morning unable to sleep. It was 4:30 a.m. when the 45-year-old left his home in Onalaska, Texas, to make the 14-mile drive to Livingston. Along...

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  • Steven Fisher

    Steven Fisher Makes a Comeback

    Six months after sustaining multiple traumatic injuries in a motor vehicle crash, 38-year-old Steven Fisher was walking again, thanks to the skill of the multidisciplinary team at the Red Duke Trauma Institute at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center and the handiwork of his orthopedic traumatolo...

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  • Maria Sonnen

    Saving Maria Sonnen's Leg

    Maria Sonnen and her daughter, Laura Sonnen, were hit from behind repeatedly by a man driving a Nissan Frontier pickup truck. The result was a severe injury to Maria's left leg and near complete loss of the skin from behind her right knee to her ankle putting her at risk for an above-the-knee amp...

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  • Ishaan Pavuluri

    Ishaan Pavuluri Makes A Comeback

    “It all happened in less than a minute,” Deepthi Bollu says. “We ran outside and looked around, then ran to the front and side of the house. By then I had a bad feeling, and when we looked in the pool, we saw him at the bottom.” After nearly three minutes of CPR administered according to instruct...

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  • Chad Blackburn

    Chad Blackburn: On the Upswing

    After a vehicle plowed into the back of his patrol car, rescuers used the Jaws of Life to pry apart the car and free Chad Blackburn, who was transported to a community hospital in south Houston, where surgeons removed his spleen, stabilized him and arranged for air ambulance transport to the Memo...

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  • Leigh Rozell

    On Making the Breast Cancer Treatment Decision: A Personal Story

    Leigh Rozelle found the lump purely by accident, just three days before Christmas. As she crossed her arms, she felt a golf ball-size knot on the outer side of her left breast. My family practitioner was able to squeeze me into her schedule the very next day,” says Rozelle, who is 38. “When she e...

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  • John Sigmon

    John Sigmon: Living Proof

    In 1996 at the age of 45, John Sigmon was diagnosed with acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis, a deadly disease with a 30% to 50% survival rate. Five months into his hospitalization, Sigmon lapsed into a coma and was put on life support. Three weeks later, he walked out of the hospital, the first of ma...

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  • Martha Mazzola

    Martha Mazzola: A Day Unlike Any Other

    Martha Mazzola recalls very little of the evening she suffered an acute ischemic stroke. “It started out as a day just like any other, and along toward evening I found myself sitting on a chair at our kitchen table with my husband on his knees beside me saying he was going to call 911&rdquo...

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  • Janie Totten

    Janie Totten: Against All Odds

    As a three-year of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), Janie Totten has defied the odds. After her surgery, the 60-year-old began exercising so she could return to a normal activity level and focused on keeping a positive attitude about her recovery. Totten and her husband, George, have also kept...

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  • Matt Craig

    Returning to the Water, One Millimeter at a Time

    In June 2013, Matthew Craig – then 15 – and his family were at their house on Lake Livingston enjoying some quality time when tragedy struck. While tubing behind a jet ski, Craig suddenly crashed into a boat dock. Right before impact, he attempted to protect his head as best he could ...

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  • Gabrielle Giffords

    Rep. Gabrielle Giffords: On the Road to Recovery

    The Mischer Neuroscience Institute took the national stage when U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was transferred to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center’s Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit on Friday, Jan. 21, 2011 after she was shot in the head. The Arizona congresswoman was shot at pointblank ...

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  • Gary McGhee

    Gary McGehee: Home on the Range

    When 63-year-old West Texas rancher Gary McGehee began experiencing episodes of tingling in his left shoulder and arm in 2010, he was treated for heart disease in San Angelo, the town located nearest the ranch he and his wife Carolyn own in Irion County. His cardiologist diagnosed stress-related ...

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  • Megan

    Megan's Story: Deep Brain Stimulation Changes a Life

    Five years ago Megan Collins’ life was marked by pain, social embarrassment and uncertainty about her medical future. Today, the 35-year-old considers herself lucky. Collins responded favorably to the treatment regimen for almost 18 months. Then her dystonia began to worsen and evolved aggressive...

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  • Eddie Carlton

    Eddie Carlton's Story: Two Hip Replacements

    When physical education teacher Eddie Carlton began feeling debilitating as he taught his students, he knew it was time to find relief. After being evaluated by Dr. Eddie Huang, an orthopedic surgeon at Memorial Hermann Joint Centers, he felt confident in his next steps for treatment.  Dr. H...

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  • Leonard Lewis

    Beating the Glioblastoma Multiforme Odds

    Van Buren, Arkansas, resident Lenord Lewis was working in Houston when his recurrent headaches became so bad that a co-worker drove him to Bayshore Medical Center in Pasadena, Texas. After reviewing the results of an MRI and CT scan, the emergency physician called an ambulance to transport the 55...

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  • Read about Thomas Campbell Reversing Hydrocephalus

    Thomas Campbell: Reversing Hydrocephalus-Related Dementia

    In July 2012, the couple discussed a possible diagnosis of NPH with Raymond Martin, MD, a professor of neurology at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and medical director of outpatient neurology at Mischer Neuroscience Institute . After...

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  • Lindsay Holstead

    Lindsay Holstead: Back in the Saddle

    Equestrian Lindsay Holstead was leading her warmblood to the pasture on an unseasonably cold day in April 2013, when he became rambunctious and began to buck. After he bumped her, she lost my balance and fell, and his hoof struck her in the right side of the forehead where it curves toward the te...

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  • Eric Sandaval

    Erick Sandoval: A Successful Brain Surgery Changes a Young Boy’s Career Choice

    At first Debra Johnson didn’t associate her 11-year-old son’s unusual behavior with seizure activity. He would go through periods of seeming spacey, and she couldn't figure the issue out. After an MRI revealed a small tumor in his right temporal lobe, the family was referred to Dr. David Sandberg...

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  • Carolos Velazquez

    Carlos Velázquez: Cancer Is Just a Word

    Every other month, Carlos Velázquez and his wife, Mónica Costa, make the 12,500-mile round trip between their home in Asunción, Paraguay, and Houston, Texas, where Velázquez is undergoing an innovative treatment for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The Paraguayan couple and their Texas Medical Cent...

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  • Martha Manning

    Martha’s Story: Partial Gastrectomy for Gastric Neuroendocrine Tumor

    An upper gastrointestinal scope revealed bleeding in Manning's stomach, caused by a gastric neuroendocrine tumor of the stomach. Confirming the diagnosis, Dr. Rowe referred her to affiliated surgeon Curtis Wray, MD, for surgical removal of the tumor. Says Martha, "When Dr. Wray told me I would ne...

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  • Rebecca Buckner

    Back in the Pool After Knee Surgery

    As a Master’s Swimmer for the past 23 years, Rebecca expects top performance from her body. “Swimming is a very important part of my life — I used to compete and I wanted to still be able to do the breaststroke since that’s my preferred stroke,” says Rebecca. When the pain in her right knee becam...

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  • Robin Schroeder IRONMAN

    Robin Schroeder: Woman on Fire

    Opportunity often arrives disguised as misfortune. After Robin Schroeder was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, she set out to ride the MS 150, a two-day cycling event organized by the National MS Society to raise funds for research. Her success led to an even greater accomplishment. “I’d never ...

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  • MaKayla

    MaKayla’s Story: Scoliosis Strikes Out

    MaKayla’s scoliosis diagnosis came as a complete shock. The petite 13-year-old was a cheerleader, tumbled and played competition softball. By all appearances, she was perfectly healthy. Yet, in September 2015, a visit to a chiropractor for a back injury resulting from a trampoline incident ...

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  • Treveon

    Treveon's Story: Scoliosis Surgery Puts Treveon Back in Action

    Since he first began playing football at age 5, Treveon, now a high school sophomore, has dreamed of playing college ball, maybe even going pro. But in eighth grade, he was temporarily sidelined, when a routine visit to his pediatrician revealed a hump on his upper back. X-rays showed a curvature...

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  • Alan Benson smiling

    Alan Benson: A Successful Nonsurgical Fix for Back Pain

    Alan Benson had suffered from very painful sciatica for six long weeks by the time he arrived in the office of interventional pain management specialist Divya Chirumamilla, MD. Two physicians work together at Mischer Neuroscience Associates-The Woodlands to ensure their patients access to fast, c...

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  • Read about Floridian Travels to Houston

    A Floridian Travels to Houston for High-Quality Care

    By the time Randy Whitesides made it to the office of internationally recognized glaucoma expert Robert M. Feldman, MD, the Floridian had lost the vision in his right eye. After contracting a bacterial infection in Mexico 30 years ago, he developed reactive arthritis, an autoimmune condition in w...

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  • Brendan Diffley

    Meticulous Surgery Saves a Young Trauma Patient’s Vision

    On New Year’s Eve 2012 Brendan Diffley’s father, Shane Diffley, and his stepmother, Jennifer Diffley, drove the 12-year-old to nearby Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital after he shot himself in the eye with a pencil while fashioning a makeshift paper crossbow using online directions. He w...

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  • Read about Successful Treatment Inspires Young Woman

    Successful Treatment Inspires a Young Woman to Study Nursing

    Three days after she had LASIK surgery at another institution, 19-year-old Amy Truong noticed a white spot in her right eye. When a three-week course of antibiotics failed to resolve the issue, her eye surgeon referred her to cornea and external disease specialist Gene Kim, MD, at the Robert Cizi...

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  • Grace

    Grace’s Story: Overcoming CDH

    For some parents, a newborn’s cry can cause distress. But for Marlen and Kevin, hearing their daughter Grace’s first cry brought relief and joy. Grace was born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), a condition that occurs during fetal development that can lead to severe respiratory and ot...

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  • Read about Jamie Wright Hydrocephalus

    Jamie Wright's Hydrocephalus Story: A Personal Matter Becomes a Professional Motivation

    Since Jamie Wright was a child, she has wanted to change the outlook for people who struggle with a diagnosis of hydrocephalus, which is the most common reason some children require brain surgery. Out of every 1,000 babies born in the U.S., about one to two are born with hydrocephalus, a conditi...

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  • Kevin and Karla Urrutia

    Kevin and Karla: Supraglottoplasty for Neonatal Laryngomalacia

    Kevin and Karla Urrutia were born at term, but as twins they were both underweight – the boy weighing in at 4 pounds 10 ounces and the girl at 4 pounds 15 ounces. “Karla was eating fine after birth, but Kevin had stridor caused by a soft, immature cartilage of the upper larynx that ob...

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  • Jayda Hector

    Laryngotracheal Reconstruction: A Long-Awaited Resolution for Jayda Hector

    Pediatric otorhinolaryngologist, Sancak Yuksel, MD, at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital has provided care for Jayda Hector since shortly after she was born in October 2010 at just 26 weeks’ gestation. After 12 trips to the OR at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, the six ...

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  • Cristian serrato

    Cristian Serrato: Deep Brain Stimulation Transforms a Life

    Much of neurology is detective work. Like good sleuthing, successful practice demands profound knowledge, honed investigative skills, persistence and a measure of artistry. In the case of Cristian Serrato, diagnosis and treatment of a challenging disorder required all of these talents and more. U...

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  • Thea

    Thea’s Story: Hemangioma, an Angel’s Kiss

    During a routine well-baby checkup shortly after Thea was born, her pediatrician noted a small red spot on Thea’s temple, adjacent her right eye. Colleen , Thea’s mother, recalls, “Our pediatrician knew immediately that the red spot was a hemangioma, and he told us it would grow...

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  • Bill Teague

    Bill Gets Moving with a New Hip

    Bill liked the fact that Memorial Hermann’s main focus after surgery is to get the patient moving in order to jumpstart the healing process. When it came time for Bill to select a physician for his total hip replacement surgery, he knew exactly who he’d choose. “I selected affiliated orthopedic p...

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  • Becky Anton

    Becky Anton's Weight Loss Surgery Story

    Kindergarten Teacher Becky Anton and her bariatric surgeon decided to pursue gastric bypass after discovering pre-cancerous cells in her esophagus. The procedure has not only relieved the discomfort in her esophagus, but her weight loss journey has renewed her spirit and her health.

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  • Dominic on his father's shoulders

    Back from the Brink: Dominic's Story

    Dominic was only 18-months-old when he followed the family dog out the back door and fell into the family’s hot tub. He was transported to the emergency room at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital. During his stay, he was put on ECMO, which is an advanced life support treatment for critically il...

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  • Jon G

    Jon Bounces Back from Joint Pain

    While exercising at the gym one day, Jon felt a slight twinge of pain in his neck. Thinking nothing of it, he continued his workout and daily activities. During a spring break ski trip, that slight twinge became increasingly painful with each day and he developed radiating arm pain and weakness. ...

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  • Leila Pedraza

    Leila Pedraza’s Light at the End of the Tunnel

    Three-year-old Leila went to her first ballet class in September 2016, an experience that might have been beyond her reach without the medical skills of Amy Schefler, M.D., FACS, an affiliated ocular oncologist and retinoblastoma specialist at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital’s Te...

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  • Darius Sonia

    Darius Sonia: The Perfect Candidate for Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy

    A caring and informed mother, a knowledgeable physical therapist and an expert in the surgical management of spasticity have transformed the life of eight-year-old Darius Sonia. Born seven weeks early, Darius suffered an intraventricular hemorrhage in the first few days of life – a common occurre...

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  • Read about Fred Carpenter Joint Story

    Fred Carpenter: Joint Center Patient

    When Fred Carpenter could no longer take a walk with his grandkids, he asked a friend who's an orthopedic surgeon who he would recommend. "He answered Memorial Hermann Joint Center. I would give Memorial Hermann - the whole system - the highest marks. From the very beginning to the very end, it ...

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  • Pamela Bah - See Her Joint Center story

    “Before my surgery, I was in constant pain. My quality of life was, like, 30%. I had to limit what I was doing. I was not able to fully participate in the kids' education. And it was just very difficult for me as a teacher. So I had to make a decision. I found Memorial Hermann Joint Center throu...

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  • Evelyn Suber

    Evelyn Suber: Like Family

    In July 2013, Evelyn Suber was hospitalized for dehydration – the result of a serious viral infection. At some point during the two weeks she was ill, she noticed numbness in her legs. A month later, when the numbness persisted, neurologist Suresh Roongta, MD, admitted her to Memorial Hermann Gre...

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  • Jacob Smith

    Jacob Smith: Your Attitude Defines Your Future

    Jacob Smith was returning home with other students at his high school, after attending a leadership conference in Corpus Christi for members of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA). The last thing he remembers was buying snacks when the four-car caravan of students and teachers...

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  • Tato Stanley on horse

    Tato Stanley Makes a Statistically Improbable Recovery

    At the end of a family vacation in Snowmass, Colorado, 17-year-old Clay “Tato” Stanley was seriously injured in a snowboarding accident. “They were doing jumps, and Tato lost control on the landing and was immediately paralyzed,” Tato’s mother, Alice Stanley says. Ta...

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  • Macy

    Macy's Story: Cleft Lip and Palate

    As Kenzie and Ricky attended their routine 18-week ultrasound, they expected everything to go smoothly; however, they received unexpected information about their baby girl, Macy. Their unborn daughter was diagnosed with a unilateral cleft (a split occurring on one side) that extended all the way ...

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  • Cassandra

    Cassandra's Story: Gastroschisis

    As Sabrina sat at her 16-week checkup, she was expecting her appointment to be ordinary. However, after receiving her ultrasound, she found out her baby girl was diagnosed with a birth defect known as gastroschisis. Shocked and scared about her baby’s health, her obstetrician referred her to The ...

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  • Bernarda and Freddy Azuara

    Freddy and Bernarda: A Match Through Kidney Paired Donation

    When Bernarda learned none of her three sons were a match for kidney donation, their search led them to the Kidney Transplant Program at the Memorial Hermann Transplant Center in Houston, where they learned that Bernarda had a high number of circulating donor-specific antibodies targeting human l...

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  • David Fuselier and Jackie

    David and Jackie: 34 Years and Counting

    Although the early years of kidney transplantation were marked by high rates of rejection and allograft failure, a clinical trial of the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporine dramatically changed the outlook for transplant recipients. The trial began in 1979, and three years later, David was among ...

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  • Maria Lopez

    Maria Flores Defies the Odds Against Deadly Form of Brain Cancer

    For those diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), one of the most common and deadly types of malignant brain tumors, the outlook for long-term survival can be devastatingly grim. The average life expectancy after diagnosis hovers near 15 months, and the five-year survival rate is less than ...

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  • James and Tracy

    James and Tracy: A Good Match for Life

    Tracy and James met at a 7-Eleven store in Bryan, Texas, and the two have been together ever since. Neither would have imagined that they would one day share a kidney. James and Tracy had been married for nearly 10 years when his physicians recommended kidney transplantation.

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  • David and Gam Nguyen

    David and Gam: A Son Gives Life to His Mother

    Diabetes and high blood pressure are the two most common causes of end-stage kidney disease. The progression of both conditions over more than 15 years of Gam’s life led to chronic kidney disease. By 2010, the 66-year-old mother of four boys was in borderline kidney failure, and her nephrol...

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  • Mason Brown

    With A Heart Full of Gratitude: A Former Patient Thanks The PICU

    Erinn Brown was 34 weeks pregnant when she realized something was wrong with her baby. An ultrasound showed that the left ventricle of the baby’s heart was very small and nearly nonexistent. Brown’s doctor referred her to The Fetal Center at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital....

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  • Miles McDonough sitting

    Miles McDonough: Unstoppable

    In September 2011, alpine enthusiast and search-and-rescue team member Miles McDonough fell 65 feet while scaling Mount Stuart in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington state. In the accident, he fractured his right humeral head and scapula, an injury that damaged the brachial plexus nerves co...

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  • Jayden and Luke

    Baby Luke's Battle With CDH

    Jayden and Luke. Two-year-old identical twin boys. They run and wrestle, giggle and converse in their own shared lingo – jibber-jabber only they understand. But Jayden is taller, more robust. Luke wears the same size clothes as the boys’ younger brother Cooper. Each of the twins in his own way is...

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  • Hannah

    Hannah’s Story: Beating the Odds to Run Again

    When sixteen-year-old Hannah Hendricks faced the biggest setback of her life, she showed her grit to be the kind that comes from deep inside, the kind that keeps you going against the odds. And Hannah knows all about beating the odds. On the morning of July 25, 2013, Hannah, an incoming high scho...

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  • Daniel Turya riding bike

    Daniel Turya: Recovery After a Biking-Related Brain Injury

    It was Daniel Turya’s eighth birthday and he couldn’t wait to take his new birthday gift from his parents out for a spin. It was a shiny new bike, and even though he didn’t have a helmet, he was just riding right outside of his apartment doorstep with his buddies. Soon after he got on, he acciden...

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  • Scott Carriker

    For Scott Carriker, Form Follows Function

    Scott Carriker was in a bucket truck, changing out an electric utility circuit pole, when he grabbed the wrong wire and suffered an electrical injury that badly burned both his hands. He was admitted to the hospital’s John S. Dunn Burn Center and underwent eight surgeries in 10 days, the la...

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  • Natalie Franker

    Therapy Gives Natalie Fraker Strength and a Boost of Confidence

    A couple of months shy of her fourth birthday, Natalie Fraker’s voice grew a little hoarse. An endoscopic examination by an otolaryngologist revealed a partially paralyzed vocal cord. On biopsy, it was identified as a grade II astrocytoma, a tumor that arises from the star-shaped cells that...

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  • Mikayla Williams

    Mikayla Williams Makes a 180-Degree Turn

    Easter Sunday in April 2014, out of the blue, Mikayla Williams had a seizure – a dramatic occurrence for an otherwise healthy 12-year-old girl. A CT scan and blood tests done at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital produced inconclusive results, and Mikayla was sent home with an anti-...

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  • James Durham

    James Durham's Story

    James Durham was on his motorcycle headed home after an employee dinner. “I was about two miles from home. A woman was stopped at a traffic light but didn’t have her blinker on so it seemed that she was trying to make a U-turn,” says Durham. “When she pulled away from the ...

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  • Samantha Shine

    Samantha Shines On

    When Samantha Shine came to TIRR Memorial Hermann Pediatric Outpatient Rehabilitation at the Kirby Glen Center, the 3-year-old was still eating puréed food – very slowly – and was underweight for her age. Six months later, she eats breakfast, lunch and dinner with her family an...

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  • Christine Smid

    Christine Smid: Relief from the Suicide Disease

    Twenty-five-year-old Christine Smid was in good health until 2007, when she began to notice a burning, shocking pain in her face that began just below the eyelid and extended down to her upper teeth and lip. While visiting family in Lake Jackson, Texas, she saw her hometown dentist, who recognize...

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  • Hilary Cannon smiling

    Hilary Cannon: Supraclavicular Brachioplexus Leiomyosarcoma

    Leiomyosarcoma is a rare malignant tumor of the smooth muscle cells that can arise almost anywhere in the body, but is most common in the uterus, abdomen or pelvis. The cancer typically spreads through the blood stream to attack the lung, liver, blood vessels and other soft tissues in the body. L...

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  • Eileen Bogar

    Eileen Guerinot Bogar Returns to Her Life as an Attorney and Single Mom

    Eileen Bogar’s recovery was not at all what her acute care physicians predicted. After suffering a severe bilateral brainstem stroke in mid-December 2012, she was tucked away in the intensive care unit at a hospital in Houston for five weeks. She was on a ventilator for the first two weeks ...

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  • Daquan Minor

    Daquan Minor: The Determination to Win

    Eighteen-year-old Daquan Minor, who suffered a fractured skull and a T-6 incomplete spinal cord injury in an auto accident in February 2013. Two years later, he was a key contributor to the 2015 TIRR Memorial Hermann junior Hotwheels win of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association’s Nationa...

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  • Jason Roy

    Jason Roy: From Zero to a Hundred

    As a child, Jason Roy wanted to be a baseball player or a police officer. He initially gravitated towards sports, but then shifted gears and joined the Houston Police Department as an officer. Roy, by then a five-year veteran of the department, flipped his squad car several times during a high-sp...

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  • Dara Lewis

    Dara Lewis: From Patient to Neuroscience Nurse

    Two semesters short of graduation from nursing school, Dara Lewis began having severe headaches. In a sudden shift from student nurse to patient, Lewis worked her way through the referral process from primary care physician to neurologist to neurosurgeon. In October 2011 she found herself in an e...

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  • Judith Harris

    Judith Harris: An Accomplished Academic Triumphs Over an Unexpected Physical Challenge

    “Maybe it’s just stress,” thought Judith Harris when she suddenly experienced a severe pain in her neck while lying on the couch in her downtown Houston home. A professor of criminal justice at the University of Houston Downtown, Harris juggles a heavy workload and academic publication schedule. ...

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  • Maria Trevino

    Maria Trevino: Back at Work After DBS for Parkinson’s Disease

    Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Maria describes herself as “a new person” thanks to the skill of the deep brain stimulation (DBS) team at the Mischer Neuroscience Institute. Approved by the FDA for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease in 2002, DBS uses a surgically imp...

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  • Ezra

    Donate for Life: Ezra's Story

    After Ezra's family started to notice him getting sick, they sought medical advice before finally ending up at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital for care. Ezra's rare disease led to him needing a liver transplant. After finding a match, his medical team went into action to perform the transpla...

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  • Mike Autrey

    Mike's Story - Lung Cancer

    Jafri sent the slides to a specialist, who confirmed small cell lung cancer, a form that shares common neuro-endocrine features with carcinoid cancer, but tends to be extremely aggressive.

    For Mike Autrey, the treatment began with 12 weeks of chemotherapy given along with radiation to the ...

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  • Jordan looking out

    Jordan’s Story: Stroke at 16

    During a routine football practice Jordan suddenly felt dizzy and showed signs that something was wrong. He was immediately taken to Memorial Hermann where affiliated pediatric neurologist Dr. Ian Butler along with neurologist Dr. Nicole Gonzales diagnosed Jordan as having had a stroke. Later aft...

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  • Floyd

    Floyd’s Story: a Family With Heart Trouble

    Floyd went to the heart doctor because of a family history of heart disease and death. After experiencing consistent heart burn and indigestion symptoms he went to see the specialists at Memorial Hermann Heart & Vascular Institute. After receiving a ventricular stress test, his physician said...

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  • John Keller

    John Keller: Miracle in Progress

    When 33-year-old John Keller was first admitted to TIRR Memorial Hermann on March 26, 2008, he was in a vegetative state. On impact, Keller suffered a fractured skull and pelvis and an intracranial hemorrhage resulting in a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Nine days later, he was transferred ...

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  • Justin Lamb

    Rehabilitation for Dysautonomia: TIRR Memorial Hermann and Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital Collaborate to Treat a Complex Genetic Disorder

    Eighteen-year-old Justin Lamb is one of many patients to benefit from a unique collaboration between TIRR Memorial Hermann and the pediatric neurology and pediatric cardiology services at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. Working together, the two institutions have developed a program t...

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  • Braxton Taylor

    Braxton Taylor: From Total Assist to Independence

    When 20-year-old Braxton Taylor arrived at TIRR Memorial Hermann in August 2013, he was unable to walk, transfer, eat or manage other activities of daily living without total assistance. When he was discharged on Halloween, he could walk with assistance and was independent in most aspects of dail...

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  • Angelina

    Angelina: Heart Attack Survivor

    Angelina was on an overnight flight in Louisville, Kentucky when she was awoken by strong heart palpitations. The very next day, she flew home to Houston, TX and saw a cardiologist. An echocardiogram showed an enlarged and weak heart. Dr. Jalal and the affiliated team at Memorial Hermann Southwes...

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  • Wes Brown

    Wes Brown: Back on the Road Again

    Wes Brown was hauling a load of saltwater from an oilfield in East Texas to a nearby disposal site when the tires on the rear axle of his 18-wheeler hit a pothole and bounced onto the shoulder of the road. As he tried to center his trailer, the steer tire on the passenger side hit another pothole...

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  • Cory Smith

    Cory Smith Rises to the Challenge

    In May 2012, Cory Smith, a straight-A student and star basketball player at Clear Springs High School in Houston, suffered a severe intracranial empyema, an infection that arises most commonly as a complication of sinusitis or otitis, particularly in males in later childhood, adolescence or early...

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  • Kelly Williams

    Kelly Williams Is Getting Another Wonderful Birthday Present This Year

    Kelly and her husband, Chad, count themselves very lucky. The diagnosis of an open neural tube defect, or myelomeningocele, led them on a journey of education, referral, consultations and, ultimately, to open fetal surgery for spina bifida repair. Spina bifida – a major birth defect involving the...

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  • Peter Aaron and Willa Berry

    The Berry Family Story: Three Kids Inspire a City

    In July 2011, three young siblings lost their parents in a tragic car accident on the way home from summer vacation in Colorado. The Berry family was traveling back to Houston when their vehicle was struck head-on by an SUV that had veered into their lane. The two brothers, Peter and Aaron, who w...

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  • Peter Aaron and Willa Berry

    Three Years After the Accident, the Berry Siblings Return to Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital

    In July 2011, three young siblings lost their parents in a tragic car accident on the way home from summer vacation. The Berry family was traveling back to Houston when their vehicle was struck head-on by an SUV. The two brothers, Peter and Aaron, sustained serious spinal cord injuries that paral...

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  • Mobile Stroke Unit

    Nation's First Mobile Stroke Unit Successfully Transports First Patient

    We're proud to announce the UTHealth Mobile Stroke Unit has successfully transported and helped save the life of its very first patient. The unit, the first and only one of its kind in the nation, is a specially equipped ambulance with a CT (computed tomography) scanner that allows a stroke unit ...

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  • Tommy Smith smiling

    Tommy Smith: A Walking Miracle

    In the nine months that passed before 63-year-old Tommy Smith found his way to the office of Daniel H. Kim, M.D., FACS, FAANS, he gradually lost muscle function to the point of paralysis. By November 2012, he could no longer walk, feed himself or move his right hand. “I could see myself deterio...

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  • Angela Wriggelsworth

    Angela Wrigglesworth: Spinal Muscular Atrophy

    At 16 months of age, Angela Wrigglesworth was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a progressive motor neuron disease that causes weakness in the arms, legs and torso. This prevented her from walking and she began using a wheelchair at the age of 5 years. She was admitted to the TIRR Memorial ...

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  • Joseph Huerta

    Joseph Huerta: Recovery After a Skiing Accident

    Joseph Huerta and his siblings took off for a skiing trip. As he skied down the hill, Joseph lost his balance and went over a 15-foot cliff hitting his head on a tree. After being rushed to the hospital, going through surgery and being in a coma for 12 days, Joseph beat the odds and regained cons...

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  • Meena Outlaw

    Meena Outlaw: Spinal Cord Injury and Pregnancy

    Meena Dhanjal Outlaw was injured on January 23, 2000, after she stepped onto the balcony of her newly built home and was locked out of her house. Concerned about the safety of her 3-week-old son, Miles, and 3-year-old daughter, Jasmine, she attempted to climb down from the balcony. She ended up f...

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  • Saleh in wheelchair

    Saleh Alzahrani: Rehabilitation After Cancer

    Saleh Alzahrani was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 12. He underwent a successful surgery to remove a brain stem tumor and then went back to his daily life. At the age of 25, Alzahrani learned that his cancer had returned and another operation was required to remove a tumor, which was located...

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  • Dr. Lally Copeland twins

    Conjoined Twins Share Their Story 18 Years Later

    Caitlin and Emily may seem like your average identical twin sisters. But at one time in their lives, the twins shared something much more significant and they have the visible scars to prove it: Emily and Caitlin were born conjoined. Conjoined twins are an extreme rarity, only occurring once in e...

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  • Jaclyn Barbosa

    A Good Night’s Sleep for Jaclyn

    Jaclyn Barbosa’s polysomnogram showed she was waking up six to 10 times an hour, leading her doctor to diagnose her with mild obstructive sleep apnea. He fitted Barbosa, who felt claustrophobic using CPAP, with a mandibular advancement splint. The appliance protrudes the jaw in a forward pos...

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  • Anthony wearing a tie

    Cleft Lip and Palate Program Brings New Smiles to Life

    Daniella Coca’s son Anthony was born with both a cleft lip and palate. Coca was five months pregnant when she received the diagnosis after a 3-D ultrasound, which afforded her and Anthony’s father several months to meet John Teichgraeber, MD, and his team, determine a plan of action and better pr...

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  • Teichgraeber -Mission Mexico

    Physicians Bring Smiles to Patients Abroad

    Pediatric surgeons have the ability to bring smiles to patients and their families. Dr. John Teichgraeber, director of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in the Department of Pediatric Surgery, recently brought smiles and positive outcomes to patients in Mexico as part of a medica...

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  • Hartman family

    The Rocket Scientist Meets the Brain Surgeon

    For 33-year-old physicist William Hartman, undergoing any type of brain surgery to treat his epilepsy – even the minimally invasive kind - commanded a giant leap of faith. As part of the team responsible for analyzing how the International Space Station and its experiments interact with the...

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  • Haiti Mission Trip

    Pitching in to Help Haitian Children with Hydrocephalus

    Last December, an eight-member neurosurgical team extended their practice beyond the walls of Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and McGovern Medical School at UTHealth to Haiti, where they spent four days on a medical mission to treat children with hydrocephalus. “Like all mission trips, we ha...

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  • Savanna

    Savanna's Pediatric Epilepsy Story

    Savanna and her twin brother, Austin, were happy, healthy babies, but at about 6 weeks old, Savanna began having what episodes – short periods during which she would be nonresponsive and withdrawn. Nine months later, the Lininger’s made the decision to move to Houston to be closer to ...

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  • Julie Batsche

    Julie Batsche: Decades of Quality Care for MS

    When Julie Batsche was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) by Jerry S. Wolinsky, MD, she was fresh out of college. Much has changed since her original diagnosis in 1984, yet one thing has remained a constant in Batsche’s life – her deep respect and admiration ...

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  • Jennifer

    Jennifer’s Story: Heart Attack at 32

    32-year-old Jennifer Cooper Cheak was playing with her 3-week-old baby and son when she started to feel tightness and pressure in her chest. A few minutes later, she experienced a heart attack and was rushed to a local hospital. She was transferred to Larry D. Johnson Heart & Vascular Institu...

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  • Leslie Martone

    Leslie Martone: A New Kind of Normal

    For those diagnosed with a potentially debilitating disease such as multiple sclerosis (MS), it would be understandable to surrender to feelings of despair and hopelessness. But that’s not the case for 39-year-old Leslie Martone, who refused to give up hope and instead has chosen to focus o...

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  • Clarence Fontenot

    Rare Double Heart Transplant

    After receiving a heart transplant in 1994 due to a Sudden Cardiac Death attack, Clarence Fontenot experienced another heart attack two decades later. Fontenot was ready to keep fighting, and so were his physicians. 13 weeks later, Dr. Gregoric made an incision in Fontenot's chest along the ...

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  • Jared Dunten

    Jared Dunten: Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury

    While on a camping trip in the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park, Jared Dunten dove into the Rio Grande with a bar of soap to clean himself up – and hit a sandbar. He woke up in an intensive care unit in Lubbock, Texas, paralyzed from the neck down and breathing with the help of a ventil...

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  • Barry Oakes Family

    Barry Oakes Recovers From Stroke

    In September 2010, 49-year-old Barry Oakes collapsed in his home while walking to the bathroom in the middle of the night. An EMS team rushed him to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed a massive ischemic stroke and administered tPA. The stroke left him with a large basilar artery thrombosis in ...

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  • Cody Kalinowski

    Down But Not Out

    Needville High School freshman Cody Kalinowski lives for football. So it’s no wonder he was disappointed at the prospect of missing most of the season after breaking his left ulna (one of the two long bones in the forearm) during a scrimmage in late August. To the surprise of many, Cody returned ...

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  • Jim Hyndman smiling

    Jim Hyndman: No Guts, No Glory

    By the time Jim Hyndman was diagnosed with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2009, he was unable to walk and suffering intense, painful lower extremity muscle spasms. Today, he stands upright using a walking stick decorated with medallions from his travels. He credits the transform...

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  • Read about Melanies Unexpected Concussion at the BP MS150

    Melanie's Unexpected Concussion

    While riding her first BP MS 150, Melanie was about 25 miles from the finish line when a rider ahead of her clipped the tire in front of the person in front of him. Melanie was not able to react in time and hit the rider in front of her, causing her to go straight down. She remembers waking up wi...

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  • Chance Both

    Chance Bothe Survives Near-Deadly Texting and Driving Accident

    In the middle of sending a text, Chance Bothe drove off of a cliff and sustained serious injuries. After spending time in an ICU, he was sent to TIRR Memorial Hermann for rehabilitation where he recovered tremendously. "They would get him outside, and he would play basketball. We would go out and...

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  • Don Mathews

    Don Mathews' Recovery From Brain Damage

    Don Mathews' inspiring story begins on the night of his 21st birthday party in September 1998. A successful student at Sam Houston State University, Don was celebrating with some of his college friends at a lake house on Lake Livingston. Don and his date were on their way to their vehicle, comple...

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  • Laura Snell

    Laura Snell: Recovering from Leg Amputation

    In October 2000, nine days after her second baby was born, Laura Snell became very ill. Doctors at a Houston emergency center diagnosed a urinary tract infection and treated and released her. As she walked to the car, she collapsed. Laura went into septic shock and lapsed into a coma for several ...

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  • Oscar Rangel

    Oscar Rangel: Guillain-Barré Therapy

    Leaving work one day, Oscar noticed his vision was strained in one eye. Over the next few days, Oscar lost vision in one eye and the ability to swallow and stand. He was admitted to a hospital and diagnosed with Guillain-Barré, a rare nervous system disorder that results from nerve damage ...

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  • Scottie

    A Young Boy Benefits From Rehabilitation Following Treatment for Glioblastoma Multiforme

    In February 2008, Tina Bailey scheduled an office visit with her son’s pediatrician when he developed croup and a bad cough. While at the doctor’s office, 22-month-old Scottie exhibited right hand curling and right shoulder drop. Bailey’s pediatrician ordered an MRI, which revea...

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  • Read about Making Better Decisions After Surgery

    Making Better Decisions After Surgery

    Katia was having trouble doing exercise, going on bike rides with her kids and having problems with her back. She is young, has three beautiful children and a wonderful husband, and she wanted to get healthy. For her situation, gastric bypass would yield the best results. Bypass is a two componen...

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  • Ralph

    Ralph's Story: New Opportunities

    Ralph was tired of not having energy and buying larger and larger clothes. When you tailor the procedure to the patient the results are better. The duodenal switch was a great tool for him. In this operation you, number one, reduce the size of the stomach, and number two, you re-route the small i...

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  • Read about Diabetes-Free After Weight Loss Surgery

    Diabetes-Free After Weight Loss Surgery

    Gwen began having problems with her weight after the birth of her first child. Before her pregnancy she weighed 125 pounds but by the time she delivered, she had jumped to 299, a weight she maintained during her second pregnancy and delivery. She developed type 2 diabetes, urinary incontinence an...

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  • Read about Lap Band Surgery Lowered Cholesterol

    Lap Band Surgery Lowered Cholesterol, Solved Bladder & Knee Problems

    Susan had struggled to maintain a healthy weight since childhood. "I was always teased about being overweight, which took its toll on my self-esteem," she said. "By the time I was in the eighth grade, I weighed 185." During her junior year in high school, Susan played basketball and ran cross-cou...

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  • Read about Right Weight Loss Surgery

    The Right Weight Loss Surgery and Losing 220 Pounds

    When Steve began considering weight loss surgery at the age of 56, he was a Type II diabetic with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and unbearable pain in his knee joints. In addition to medications for these conditions, he was taking a diuretic to reduce the swelling in his legs. During his ...

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  • Read about Weight Loss Surgery Cured Heartburn

    Weight Loss Surgery Cured Heartburn and Hiatal Hernia Complications

    By May 2010, seven months after the surgery, she achieved a major victory and her weight had dropped from a preoperative high of 251 to between 180 and 185; and she's still losing. Asthma, which she's had all her life, no longer plagues her. Her knees are improving, she no longer sleeps with the ...

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  • Read about Belindas Lap Band Success Story

    Belinda's Story: Lap Band Success

    Before her gastric band surgery, Belinda's weight fluctuated between 203 and 205 and her health had begun to deteriorate. In addition to the general aches and pains that accompany excess pounds, she developed heart palpitations and sleep apnea. At the time of her surgery, she was 36-years-old. "I...

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  • Rodney Janczak

    Rodney Janczak: 25 Years Later

    Rodney Janczak took his first helicopter ride on July 3, 1987, when he was nine years old. Following an automobile accident in a suburban area of northwest Houston, he was flown by Memorial Hermann Life Flight to the Red Duke Trauma Institute at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, formerly kno...

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  • Gabrielle Giffords

    Gabrielle Giffords' Extraordinary Journey

    On January 21, 2011, United States Representative Gabrielle Giffords was transferred from the University of Arizona Medical Center to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center’s Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit. Rep. Giffords’ physician team upgraded her condition from serious to good fou...

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  • Dorothy Malone

    Successful Therapy to Help Patient Regain Use of Arm and Leg Following Stroke

    When Malone was stabilized, she was transferred to the hospital’s 23-bed inpatient neurorehabilitation unit for comprehensive care and an aggressive program of physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech/language pathology. Mischer Neurorehabilitation's multidisciplinary team – ...

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  • Alyssa

    Alyssa: Severe Seizures

    After episodes of shaking and seizures, Alyssa, age 8, was diagnosed with epilepsy in January 2007. Alyssa’s medications were not working; she was forgetting everyday things, even the alphabet. A dancer, she was not able to remember dance steps she had learned, forgot dances she used to perform a...

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  • Moya

    Moya's Story: Cerebral Palsy

    As an infant, Moya was diagnosed with a global developmental delay and, as a toddler, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. She was delayed in movements and milestones that a toddler normally accomplishes, such as sitting up, standing and saying a few clear words. Moya had received therapy befor...

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  • Isabella

    Isabella: Occupational & Physical Therapy

    Karen and Vincent adopted Isabella from a Chinese orphanage in 2008. They took her to an international adoption doctor to complete the adoption process. The doctor informed Isabella's parents she had developmental and speech delays.

    It was likely that Isabella did not receive the stimulatio...

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  • Curran

    Curran: Language Delay

    In November 2008, 2-year-old Curran started treatment for a language delay. When he started treatment, he was nonverbal and communicated only by using hand gestures and vocalizations. The speech-language pathologist suggested Curran’s family encourage English as his primary language, and after pr...

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  • Brittany

    Brittany's Story: Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury

    In November 2008, Brittany and her family were moving from College Station to Katy when they had an accident on a two-lane road. Brittany, 11, hit the roof of the van and sustained a T5 spinal cord injury, several broken bones, a collapsed lung and other internal injuries. She was rushed to Memor...

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  • Dan Hammers

    Dan Hammers: Infertility in SCI

    In June 2012, Dan Hammers marked the 20th anniversary of an accident that changed his life. At the age of 19, he dove off a 10-foot building into a pool containing 4 feet of water. Hammers, who is a C4 quadriplegic, considers himself better off for the experience. In 2009, after seven years of ma...

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  • Kara Beatty

    Kara Beatty: Recovery from Neurotrauma

    Kara Beatty was on her way to summer school at a community college when a truck ran a red light and T-boned her car. She lost consciousness, and emergency responders had to use the “jaws of life” to free her from the wreckage. She remained in a coma for three days in the Neurotrauma ICU, with a m...

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  • Tristen

    Tristen: Back in the Saddle

    Laura and James were unloading hay from a lowboy trailer near their barn when the horses trotted up and began to nibble at the bales. Standing on the trailer, their five-year-old daughter Tristen, a rodeo rider, began waving her arms to shoo them away. Spooked by the motion, the horses turned to ...

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  • Logan Schaefer

    Logan Schaefer: Teenager Recovering From Traumatic Brain Injury

    On July 12, 2010, 14-year-old Logan Schaefer had a wakeboarding accident that left him unconscious, unresponsive and seizing following a traumatic brain injury. After an emergency craniotomy to relieve pressure on the brain caused by a subdural hematoma, the following day Logan awakened just long...

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  • Roberta

    Roberta Reclaims Her Independence with Rehabilitation

    While Roberta was enjoying time on her daughter’s porch in Sealy, Texas, her family became concerned that she did not look well. She had been having some headaches, but nothing that seemed out of the ordinary. On September 21, after getting what her family described as a “glazed and f...

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  • McKenzie

    McKenzy Winne: Traumatic Brain Injury

    On September 15, 2007, McKenzy Winne was riding with two friends on the tailgate of a pickup truck. Suddenly and without warning, McKenzy was thrown from the tailgate. She tried to stand up, then collapsed in the street. After being flown to the Red Duke Trauma Institute at Memorial Hermann-Texas...

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  • David Baker with Dr. Roc Chen

    David: Surgery to Treat Complex and Risky Brain Aneurysms

    When David Baker started having headaches, his parents were concerned enough to schedule an appointment with his pediatrician. David Baker's pediatrician prescribed a strong medication that failed to stop the pain. When a second dose of the medication provided no relief, the physician sent them t...

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  • Read about Lexie Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury

    Lexie's Story: Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury

    Eleven-year-old Lexie Bolds was having fun visiting a friend in Jasper, Texas, when she was involved in an accident that left her with a broken neck and arm. She injured vertebrae C2-C4 and injured her spinal cord at C4. Rushed to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center by Life Flight® helicopt...

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  • Kevin Everett

    After Being Paralyzed During an NFL Game, Kevin Everett is Standing Tall

    When Buffalo Bills’ football player Kevin Everett arrived at TIRR Memorial Hermann in September 2007 after suffering spinal cord injury on the field, he was paralyzed from the neck down. After months of aggressive therapy led by a group of physicians, physical therapists and occupational th...

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  • Read about Marquita Spell

    Marquita's Story: Fighting Esophageal Cancer and Winning

    In early 2010, Marquita Spell knew something wasn’t right. She was beginning to have difficulty swallowing and getting food down was becoming increasingly painful. “The discomfort was unlike anything I had ever experienced before,” Marquita explained. “I never had issues w...

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  • Read about Ray Williams

    Ray's Story: Hospital Stay Ends Four Years of Achalasia

    It was late 2004 when Ray Williams went to the doctor for the first time complaining of severe headaches. In fact, Ray had hit his head – not once, but twice – and it was a coworker who helped jog his memory of the first event. After returning to his physician for further evaluation, ...

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  • Faith Hagler

    Faith: Surgery in the Womb to Repair Spina Bifida

    Faith’s story begins before she was born. But unlike others, her history was complicated by a prenatal diagnosis of myelomeningocele – spina bifida – at the age of 20 weeks. A complex and permanently disabling birth defect, spina bifida involves incomplete development of a porti...

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  • Read about Achieving Balance After a Concussion

    Achieving Balance After a Concussion

    Nearly two years after Jonathan Hardegree's football- ending concussion, the pain of walking away from the game is still raw. What he considered a good defensive hit turned out to be so severe that he had to withdraw from school. Though the gifted quarterback wrestled with accepting life without ...

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  • Read about Linda Hudson-Smith

    Linda's Story: Hiatal Hernia Repair Ends Years of Suffering

    Linda Hudson-Smith is no stranger to medical care. By age 56, she had undergone four complex surgeries involving abdominal incisions and had recently completed a third procedure to repair a hiatal hernia as a result of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). To compound her condition, Linda had a...

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  • Read about Graces Journey to Life Without GERD

    Grace's Journey to Life Without GERD

    When Grace White was diagnosed with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) in the mid-1990s, she never imagined how much the disorder would one day transform her life. “At the time – and for several years afterwards – the reflux was easily managed through medication,” she ...

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  • Mackenzie Wysong

    Mackenzie's Story: A Ray of Sunshine

    Mackenzie Wysong’s positive attitude and cheery outlook make the difference in how she approaches life and its challenges.

    Mackenzie had only been living in Houston a little more than a year when she received a breast cancer diagnosis in 2013.

    Mackenzie made up her mind to hav...

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  • Larry

    Larry’s Aortic Stenosis Story

    During a visit with his cardiologist Larry was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect: aortic stenosis. With this condition, the valve gets very tight and limits blood flow to the entire body. Larry was then referred to Memorial Hermann Heart & Vascular Institute affiliated cardiothoracic a...

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  • Quinn Stroube

    A Return to the Mound

    When medication and rest failed to bring pain relief to pitcher Henry “Quinn” Stroube’s throwing elbow, his parents decided to seek a second medical opinion. With MRI in hand, they met with Peter Sabonghy, M.D., a Memorial Hermann-affiliated orthopedic surgeon who serves as medical director of th...

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  • Rennie

    Rennie Overcoming Joint Pain

    The nagging pain in both of Rennie Swift’s knees began about 15 years ago. Looking for relief, Rennie had arthroscopic knee surgery on both knees, which helped with his pain for several years. “The pain returned with a gusto,” he admits. “Especially, the right knee.”...

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  • Read about Steves Story Heart Transplant

    Steve's Story: Heart Transplant

    After several heart attacks and multiple unsuccessful attempts to manage his congestive heart failure, Steve sought a heart transplant team to begin a new journey. The process of heart transplantation can be daunting but the heart surgeons’ and specialists’ display of high competence ...

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  • Venola Jolley

    Venola's Story: Hard-Won, Heart-Felt Victory

    Venola was so overcome with joy – and shock – at winning that the sweet victory did not sink in immediately. After all, it was only about 17 months after her lifesaving heart transplant. She had suffered from ischemic cardiomyopathy and coronary artery disease - also called coronary h...

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  • Tony Lentola

    Tony's Story: Tonsil Cancer

    Thanks to a referral to Ron Karni, MD, who routinely does surgery for oropharyngeal cancers using transoral robotic surgery with a CO2 laser, Lentola avoided the toxic treatments, the effects of which are particularly pronounced in head and neck cancer patients.

    "By combining the laser and...

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