Patient Spotlight Archive — Page 5 of 12

Graphic titled “‘Dores spirit leads to ER visit.” It shows Dan Surface holding a small dog, a close-up of a bloody eye, and Dan with two medical staff members. Captions describe the dog’s excitement and Dan visiting the emergency room the next morning.
October 22, 2024

Commodore spirit proves too much for superfan’s blood vessels

While most sports injuries happen on the field, one Vanderbilt football fan managed to score one in his own home the night Vanderbilt beat Alabama.

By Holly Fletcher
Smiling woman with short blond-and-brown locs wearing a navy USA shirt and a navy jacket with red and white accents.
October 7, 2024

Skydiving, bungee jumping, deer hunting and the World Transplant Games: 13 years after getting her new kidney, Sheila Spann keeps living life to the fullest

All that’s in addition to her day jobs as a pharmacist and diabetes educator just outside of Jackson, Mississippi.

By Matt Batcheldor
Four adults in a hospital corridor display a wooden Vanderbilt Health “Tree of Life and Hope” plaque honoring Palliative Care, while several people gesture with raised fingers.
October 4, 2024

“Llama Love and M&M’s Forever”: One family’s palliative care experience leads to a lasting expression of gratitude

“The Palliative Care team is a special group of people, and I wouldn’t have wanted to share probably the most devastating week of my life with any other group,” said Jeff. “I’ve been a woodworker for more than 40 years, and I decided I wanted to do something to let them know just how wonderful they are.”

By Jill Clendening
Photo illustration combining a woman wearing a cervical neck brace, a horse and rider in an indoor arena, a neck CT scan, an electrocardiogram tracing, and an X-ray of the cervical spine held by gloved hands. The brace is labeled “MIAMI J.”
September 19, 2024

One year ago, VUMC nurse Susie Stephens was thrown from a horse and suffered a broken neck. The story of her injury, her recovery — and the day she got back on the horse.

“I wake up every day and wonder why I didn’t die.”

By Wayne Wood
Smiling toddler in a yellow dress holds a large eggplant outside a farmers’ market booth.
August 13, 2024

Why is there a 1-year-old staffing a booth at the Farmers’ Market? Her mom will be happy to tell you.

Because baby Jocelyn, the youngest of five, was a patient, the whole Scalzo family now sells their farm goods at the weekly market.

By Jessica Pasley
Atrial Fibrillation Precision Research Program clinic team members arrange genetic testing for patients with AFib. (photo by Erin O. Smith)
August 7, 2024

Program arranges genetic testing for AFib patients who may be at risk for inherited cardiomyopathy or arrhythmia syndromes

Without treatment, younger patients may develop other serious cardiac disorders such as heart failure or life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias.

By Matt Batcheldor