Patient Spotlight

Dominic Gamez is resuming more activities since he received an expandable prosthesis to treat osteosarcoma in his left leg.
January 12, 2023

Expandable prosthesis gives young patient more mobility

To treat the osteosarcoma in his left leg, Dominic Gamez, 7, and his family chose to have a magnetic expandable prosthesis implanted that can be manipulated to grow incrementally as the child grows.

By Nancy Humphrey
October 31, 2022

VUMC nurse Kendra Kilgore received a liver transplant as a teenager. Then her teenage daughter needed one, too.

Kendra’s experince helped her daughter Carissa: “I was able to explain to her from a first-hand view what it was like, not as a nurse, but as someone who went through it.”

By Jessica Pasley
Mervyn Joseph traveled from South Africa to receive his lung transplant at Vanderbilt.
September 29, 2022

Patient journeys from South Africa for lung transplant

Mervyn Joseph, who searched the world over for the best place to be considered for lung transplant, is thankful he found Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

By Matt Batcheldor
Bariatric surgery patient Veronica Llamas-Barajas recently received a heart transplant.
September 15, 2022

Patient’s care journey included LVAD, bariatric surgery, transplant

When Veronica Llamas-Barajas received a heart transplant at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in April, it was the culmination of a seven-year journey.

By Matt Batcheldor
August 11, 2022

A story of family and faith: Jennifer received a kidney transplant. The donor was Capri, who is married to Dennis. Jennifer is Dennis’ ex-wife. It’s complicated.

The extended family has grown closer as a result of Capri’s generosity. She says her faith led her to the decision.

By Matt Batcheldor
May 6, 2022

Janet Darnell received a lifesaving lung transplant. Five months later she received lifesaving surgery for colon cancer. She calls herself a “walking miracle.”

Without the lung transplant, the cancer may never have been detected.

By Matt Batcheldor
April 25, 2022

Multiple sclerosis, lung cancer, and 50 marathons: Aaron Hawkins about to reach amazing milestone

"He has been a blessing and role model for so many," his doctor Jonathan Nesbitt says.
By Jill Clendening
February 7, 2022

Hospital staff conspires to help transplant patient plan a surprise proposal – to his wife

Love was in the air on the seventh floor of Medical Center East
By Matt Batcheldor
January 12, 2022

Marching in the Tournament of Roses Parade after knee surgery? Check. Carrying a 30-lb. drum set? That, too.

It was a long journey for Jill Griffin to that iconic New Year’s Day parade, and her surgeon Rick Wright made it possible
By Emily Stembridge
December 16, 2021

Meredith Watson is pursuing a career as a “professional nose.” Surgery at VUMC sharpened her sense of smell.

"I literally could feel air in parts of my nose where I’d never felt it before.”
By Jill Clendening
December 15, 2021

Down syndrome patient celebrates anniversary of novel transplant

Vanderbilt patient Joe Eitl was among the first patients in the country with Down syndrome to undergo a heart and liver transplant.
By Matt Batcheldor
December 9, 2021

Mary Marlowe decided to donate one of her kidneys. Four people received transplants as a result.

“It is amazing to see all the pieces come together from one person’s generosity.”
By Matt Batcheldor
October 26, 2021

Lydia Gross is 100. She just piloted a plane for the first time — and she heard every sound because of her cochlear implants.

Performing an elective procedure on an older patient initially raised concerns for her doctor, David Haynes — but the results have been a resounding success
By Emily Stembridge