Inspiring Stories
Collaboration Leads to a Child's First Smile
Imagine being born without being able to smile. Six-year-old Tori Kosempel was born with a rare disorder called Moebius Syndrome, where the nerve and muscles that move the face are absent. The ability to smile when seeing a loved one or meeting new friends for the first time at school or at the playground - something most children take for granted - was simply not possible for Tori. The specialized team representing LHSC and Children's Hospital at LHSC was able to give Tori her beautiful smile for the first time in her life.
The Right Dose, the Right Drug, the Right Time
Personalized medicine is when physicians treat
patients based on their own specific DNA. This innovative area of
medicine recognizes that genetic variations make people vulnerable
to certain diseases and that specific drug treatments should work
with - and not against - their unique genetic code. For Margaret J.
Greene, world-renowned physician-scientist Dr. Richard Kim and
his Personalized Medicine Program helped her better
benefit from her cancer therapy.
Reaching the Starting Line
An Ironman
Triathlon begins with a nearly 4 km swim, is followed by over 180
km of bike racing and ends with a 42.2 km marathon run. For Ironman
Triathlete Brian Keast of New Dundee, Ontario, the greatest
challenge wasn't getting to the finish line; it was overcoming
heart failure so he could get to the starting line.
Watch the video.
Delivering Life
At
thirty-nine weeks pregnant, it was discovered that Lisa Thuss Tandy
had an aortic dissection, a life-threatening tear in the inner wall
of the aorta. The risks to both mother and baby significant, Lisa
required simultaneous open-heart surgery and emergency
C-section.
The Greatest Gift
In 2002, Ken
Knott discovered he had an extremely rare, inherited genetic
condition that caused his liver to deteriorate and produce a mutant
protein that was starting to destroy his heart. The only option for
Ken was the replacement of both organs - a combined heart and liver
transplant that had only been done a handful of times in
Canada.
A Very Special First
In December
2010, Gildard Légère became the first Canadian to undergo
a robotically assisted and minimally invasive laryngenctomy - a
procedure that was necessary to remove a cancerous lesion in Gil's
larynx, discovered after Gil choked on a piece of lobster.
A young woman's hope
Shawnda Bodrogkozi began hearing voices
when she was just 10 years old. When she was 12, she shared her
condition with her mother and was subsequently referred to London
Health Sciences Centre's (LHSC) Mental Health Services. Health care
staff diagnosed Shawnda with bipolar disorder and began a thorough
treatment program to address her mental health issues.
Read her story on page 6 of our 2010 Annual Report.
A grandmother's future
Rita O'Leary was getting progressively
weaker and London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) staff were
performing tests to find out whether her body was producing enough
blood. After receiving a series of transfusions due to her low
blood level, doctors found that although the grandmother of six was
making blood, Rita's health problems were the result of her failing
kidneys.
A father's miracle
A persistent headache and two sleepless
nights prompted 36-year-old father of two, Mike Broadhead, to take
a trip to the emergency department at St. Thomas Elgin General
Hospital one Thursday morning of September 2009.
A mother's courage
In 2004, chemical
engineer Krista Presseault noticed an abnormality on her tongue.
She had a biopsy and was stunned to find out she had tongue cancer,
specifically stage-two squamous cell carcinoma.
© 2011, LHSF, London Ontario Canada
