Patient Stories
Centerpoint Medical Center
Erin Clear, long QT syndrome
Following batteries of tests doctors diagnosed Erin with long QT syndrome, a rare congenital heart condition that involves an electrical disturbance of the heart’s rhythm. Erin received a combination pacemaker/defibrillator implant and was monitored in Centerpoint’s intensive care unit.
Tom Loveless is a self-professed safety nut and always dons a helmet when skateboarding, and insists his children follow suit. But Tom admits he made a poor decision on Sunday, June 28, 2009. It was a crystal-clear day and the accomplished skateboarder wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather with a quick run at Lea McKeighan Park in Lee’s Summit. “I didn’t wear a helmet,” he says. “I crashed onto the concrete from 10 feet, the park’s highest point.”
Zach Zorich has learned some hard lessons over the past several years. An outstanding athlete—he lettered in varsity baseball and varsity football for the Truman Patriots—Zach has sustained multiple head injuries playing the very games he loves.
Lafayette Regional Health Center
It was July 2008 and Peggy Hayson’s cancer story started as it does for many women—after a shower, when they notice something that doesn’t look quite right.
Lee's Summit Medical Center
Lawrence Bolton learned he had Stage IV non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in February 2010 after a visit to the doctor for stomach pains.
Menorah Medical Center
Overland Park Regional Medical Center
Isaac Perkins is like any active 10 year-old boy. He enjoys sports, including soccer and basketball; adventures with friends; video games; and exploring the world around him. Encouraged by parents Todd and Teresa, Isaac is dedicated to piano lessons and his electric guitar and faithfully practices both instruments.
Imagine waking up in a hospital’s ICU with casts on, IVs dripping, machines humming and absolutely no recollection of the incident that led to this acute predicament. That’s exactly what 34-year-old Overland Park resident Lisa Butler experienced in late July 2009.
Vince Boggia has a family history of heart disease. His father succumbed to a heart attack at 57 years old, Vince’s exact age when he visited Gregory Chambon, MD, his physician at College Park Family Care Center in Overland Park in February 2009. “It was my annual physical,” says Vince. “I’m a stickler for preventative medicine.”
Research Belton Hospital
When Pleasant Hill, Mo., resident Sherry Brisbin found a lump in her breast during a routine self-examination in March, she felt a painful and tender history repeating itself.
Research Medical Center
“I’ve got a lot of living to do.” - That’s a direct quote from 71-year-old Dale Flanagan, a Kansas City resident who has a renewed outlook on life following a health scare on April 6, 2010. Flanagan loved to eat greasy fried foods such as chicken, French fries and cheeseburgers. The salt shaker was a regular dining companion, and Flanagan slathered butter on rolls, baked potatoes and toast. He didn’t stop to think of the consequences his diet choices might have on his health.
42-year-old Kansas City resident, Jerry Keithline, experienced get-your-attention symptoms in October 2001: increased heart rate, chest pains, coughing and night sweats.
As a seasoned commercial photographer, Phil Licata works with one of Kansas City’s oldest and largest hospitals, Research Medical Center. But when Phil went to his doctor in January 2010 with a compromised immune system, he suddenly became a patient on the other side of the lens.
