Category: Patient Story
José Guillem, MD: Collaboration was Key for Woman Facing Colon Cancer Surgery
Recently, the Today Show featured UNC Gastrointestinal Surgery patient Sherri Rollins. Rollins, diagnosed with recurrent colon cancer, came to UNC for more treatment options that could expand her quality of life after surgery. At UNC, she found options and more: “I really liked a gastrointestinal surgeon at UNC Health, who told me the tumor could … Read more
Sydnee Yates
Abrupt swelling of the entire arm, numbness, and tingling in the hand and fingertips, arm turning bluish. All unusual things happen to an active and otherwise healthy person. “It makes you think about how well you know your body…
Tolisha Alexander
First Patient at UNC Hospitals to Receive a Double Lung Transplant Due to COVID-19 Diagnosis Effect of COVID-19 In May 2021, there were more than 3 million deaths worldwide from COVID-19. By December, that number increased to more than 5.2 million lives lost to the virus. COVID-19 is a respiratory disease that can cause various … Read more
Skip Morris
In late May of 2020, during the height of the pandemic, one night, Skip headed upstairs to get ready for bed. He was feeling unwell. For hours, he emptied the contents of his stomach covered in cold sweats. His wife, Melanie, at his request, called EMS. The ambulance arrived and transported Skip to the Emergency Room at Wayne UNC Health Care in Goldsboro, NC. His story from there…
Ronald Campbell
Standing outside in the fresh air, a crisp winter morning, looking at a clear blue sky and taking a long deep breath, feeling the cold air fill your lungs. It sounds simple, easy. However, for Ronald Campbell, there was a time when taking a breath, any breath was a struggle. This was the stark reality for Ronald Campbell, a 45-year-old father of two living in Raleigh, North Carolina when his condition was at its worst.
Jahlia Parker
At ten years old, Jahliah Parker likes to have fun with her siblings, play on her Nintendo Switch, and, along with thousands of other children across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, is ready to go back to in-person school. She is the youngest girl of six children; her brother, whom she is close to, is the youngest in the family, and none of them do anything without the others. Much like her siblings, she is an ordinary kid except for one little thing, her congenital heart condition. Throughout her entire life, Jahliah has had to deal with erratic heart rhythms, skipping of her heart, heart beating too fast, sometimes to the point of pain, and asthma. At the age of nine, she started to have fainting spells.
Lee Conner
Lee was diagnosed with influenza A, a severe strain of the flu, coupled with Strep pyogenes pneumonia. This combination left Lee unconscious, forcing his family to make the decision to put him on ECMO. His pregnant wife and family stayed by his side as he fought to heal.