Joanne George

uhadmin — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:17:55 +0000

Joanne George finishes her first half-marathon since her surgery.

“On March 28th, 2006, Dr. Philip V. Theodosopoulos, MD, performed Chiari Decompression Surgery on me. He gave me my life back. From Feb 2006 through the fall of 2007, I trained for and ran 1 half and 2 full marathons. In Oct 2007, I started with a pressure headache that never went away. From Oct until March, my symptoms multiplied to the point where I had no quality of life. I was in constant pain, uncomfortable losing the use of my left hand and experiencing problems with my mind wandering uncontrollably. I was unable to safely drive and I was unable to care for my two children. I was definitely not able to run.

I was diagnosed by MRI as having Arnold Chiari Malformation Type 1. After more tests and more MRIs, Dr. Theo agreed that I needed surgery to reduce the CS Fluid pressure in my skull.

It has been over 2 years since my surgery and I am training for my 2nd half-marathon since my life has begun again. I still have headaches and discomfort in my spine and lower back, but only about 5% of the symptoms I had before surgery.

I am living proof thanks to Dr. Theo and his staff.

Thank you!”

~ Joanne George, Dayton

Renee Young

uhadmin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:48:55 +0000

High resonance scan of a stroke patient

At the age of only 33, I suffered two major strokes that should have killed me. My left vertebral artery dissected and sent a clot to my brain stem. Thank God a nurse at St. E (it took 2 visits there and 1 at St. Luke) recognized the symptoms and called Dr. Nichols at University immediately. Dr. Nichols arrived very quickly and ordered a CT with contrast, which is when he saw the dissection. He advised me to go to University Hospital – which I did via ambulance. The surgeons were ready and waiting in case I had to have surgery. They had my films before I even got there! By the grace of God I didn’t have to undergo surgery. I spent the next five days in the Neuro ICU and two more days in the neuro unit before I went to Gateway Hospital for three weeks. Once released, I spent the next four months going to weekly rehab. There is no doubt that the physicians and staff at University Hospital saved my life and allowed me to get back to my daughter, who was only 10-months old at the time of my stroke. My prognosis is excellent and my paralyzed left vocal cord should soon return to normal. Everyone who took care of me is extremely knowledgeable but also able to maintain a very caring attitude. They were always happy to answer any questions my family had and they were very giving with their time. I am grateful to have received my care from them.

Staff:

Dr. Nichols

Dr. Broderick

Dr. Martini

Dr. Zimmer

Nurses:

Marie

Amy

Sarah

Roxanne

David