Patient Stories
Anna Crollman
UNC Surgery patient Anna Crollman is a breast cancer survivor and sat with us to tell her cancer story. She opens up about her journey with the disease and how it led her to be an advocate for other young women fighting breast cancer.
Eve Van Buren
Fatigue, brain fog, irritability and an overwhelming desire to sleep were constant feelings for Eve Van Buren. Eve had just begun a new job at UNC and was running a successful side business, in addition to being a mom of two children. If that was not enough, she found herself in the middle of a difficult divorce. With all this, Eve initially chalked up her exhaustion to a combination of stress and the aging process, but after a diagnosis of kidney stones, realized that there might be something else contributing to her feelings of fatigue and fog.
Richard Sutphin
At 57 years old Richard Sutphin is getting a new opportunity to live again. Plagued with digestion issues his entire life, he was finally diagnosed at the age of 40 with Crohn’s disease. A construction worker by trade, Richard had found his way down to Louisiana after the catastrophic impact of hurricane Katrina. He was helping the city of New Orleans rebuild, working with a crew to bring the city back to life.
Georgia Mae Braddy
A hole inside a heart. A tiny heart. A heart the size of an infant’s fist, with a hole the size of a penny. A hole that helped to keep a little girl alive. Georgia Mae Braddy is, without doubt, a fighter. At four months old, she has already undergone three major surgeries, one of which took place while she was still in utero. This is her story, but it is also the story of a team of UNC doctors and comprehensive caregivers in the departments of cardiothoracic surgery, neurosurgery, and maternal-fetal medicine who worked tirelessly and diligently in coordinated effort to save her life.
Aisha Talley
It’s common to find twenty-seven-year-old Aisha Talley sitting at the organ during church service every Sunday. Her fingers move smoothly and effortlessly across the keys as a melody flows over the congregation. If she’s not playing at church, she may be hitting chords on her keyboard as her brother sings, or while she’s listening to some of her favorite pianists. Her lifelong love of music and playing can’t be missed. The sounds emanating from her instruments creates a glow from her smile that lights up a room and tells the story of her happiness.
Brenda Hensley
“I feel guilty. As a parent, I feel guilty that I’m healthy and she’s not.” Brenda Hensley, a 54-year-old elementary school teacher in Jacksonville, North Carolina shares her feelings about what it was like when her daughter, Krystle, was diagnosed with cancer. “We have the same genetic makeup, but she got cancer, and I didn’t. I know I will have to live with the fact that my genes were passed down to my baby girl, forcing her to fight for her physical and mental life, causing her to lose friendships, lose her hair, and lose her ability to bear children.”