Mayo Clinic 2010 Annual Report
Personal StoriesPictures of hope
Five patients share their personal stories
For more than 100 years, people from all walks of life have found answers at Mayo Clinic. This year we are sharing the stories of five people whose lives we were honored to touch. These five stories are representative of hundreds of stories we are privileged to tell every year.
We trust you will enjoy these stories of courage, perseverance and hope.
Janis
Two weeks after her daughter was delivered by C-section, Janis Ollson was diagnosed with chondrosarcoma, a primary bone cancer. Because chondrosarcoma typically does not respond to chemotherapy or radiation, this young mother's only chance for survival was surgery. But removing her tumor and the spreading cancer presented a seemingly insurmountable challenge: Remove her lower spine, half of her pelvis and her left leg. Read more
Charles
Two heart transplants, a kidney transplant, two artificial hearts. Certainly more than most of us have endured. Yet, Charles Okeke kept his spirits up, his love of life strong, and his caretakers at Mayo Clinic in Arizona close. CBS News chronicled Charles' release from Mayo after a groundbreaking portable heart allowed him to walk out of the hospital, to home, wife and family, after two years tethered to a 400-pound artificial heart. Read more
Trevor
On his 22nd birthday, Trevor Bougilll was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a chronic inflammatory disease of the large bile ducts. The disease is progressive, often leading to liver damage and eventually, liver failure. Then Trevor learned his disease had progressed to bile duct cancer, or cholangiocarcinoma. "Sometimes I struggled to stay positive," says Trevor. Read more
Kristie
On a Monday morning eight years ago Kristie Naines was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. That Friday she had a bilateral mastectomy. Nineteen of her lymph nodes were removed. When she went for the follow-up pathology report she was told she had a 30 percent chance of surviving. "I went home and held my baby daughter and cried," says Kristie. Read more
Ron
On a record-shattering day of 48 tornados in Minnesota, Ron Woodside's life was also shattered. Ron suffered 27 broken bones, all 11 ribs on his left side were broken, his lung was punctured, his right elbow was dislocated, both shoulder blades and a cheekbone were broken. And he lost the irreplaceable, his wife of 18 years. Read more