The Mayo Clinic experience and patient stories Play Video "No other hospital could help me…" – Elmo, cardiovascular & transplant patient Play Video Play Video Play Video Play Video Our patients tell us that the quality of their interactions, our attention to detail and the efficiency of their visits mean health care like they've never experienced. See the stories of Mayo Clinic transplant patients. No Place Like Home: David Elder's Post-Transplant Care a 'Blessing'When David Elder’s back started to hurt in the fall of 2022, he thought his recurrent spasms had returned. But when medication didn’t help like before, his doctor sent him to the ER – and soon after, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a treatable but incurable form of cancer that had caused several painful breaks in his spine. “It just hit us out of nowhere,” he says of the diagnosis. “It was shocking.” Five… Celebrating transplant: A new life of song and serviceEditor's note: The following was written and submitted by David Bradshaw. He shares his journey from COVID, to transplant to gratitude for a second wind, including the part Mayo played in his journey. Imagine sailing through life for 68 years — the picture of good health — without major illness, disease or hospital visits. That was my life ... until COVID-19 hit me in January 2021. What seemed like a bad case of flu morphed… Celebrating a remarkable liver transplant journeyFor her one-year anniversary, Luana Q., a Mayo Clinic patient, shares her liver transplant story. Luana was the 4,000th patient to receive a liver transplant since the program began at Mayo Clinic in Florida in 1998. For her transplant, the team used normothermic regional perfusion to preserve the donated organ. This innovative approach uses a machine to pass blood through organs in a donor's body after the heart has irreversibly stopped beating. The procedure also… Trust and timing: How a bone marrow transplant gave a man extra birthdays to celebrate"I started writing my first book at the age of two. It's gonna be published at the age of four. Not bad for a little kid, huh?" But Dean Weitenhagen isn't a child prodigy with a five-year plan. He is a 70-year-old commercial real estate broker with a new lease on life — and a new "birthday" he celebrates — thanks to a lifesaving stem cell transplant for acute myeloid leukemia. Dean's new birthday, and his… Love, a lifesaving transplant and a weddingJohn and Stacy Reiser met at the perfect time. She needed his heart, and he needed her kidney. John and Stacy Reiser joke that their life is like a Hallmark movie — a classic boy meets girl, falls in love and gets married. Except in this Hallmark movie, the girl also saves the boy's life. Their story goes like this: Stacy, a diabetes educator at Mayo Clinic, stumbled across John's profile on a dating app… In a first, Mayo Clinic treats cardiology patient with phage therapyMark Ulland, a Mayo Clinic patient, recently received a lifesaving combination of phage therapy followed by a heart transplant. It is the first time Mayo Clinic has ever used phages to treat a cardiology patient. It is also the first time in years that Mark has felt hopeful. "I'm extremely grateful," Mark says. "I feel blessed. I'm getting stronger every day." Mark's long journey back to health began when his heart was failing, and the… Jerry Costello starts life after public service with new liverJerry Costello holds his first great-great-grandchild, Colt Keen. Jerry Costello has spent a lifetime serving his community and country. After retiring, the southwestern Illinois native was looking forward to a new chapter. He started his own business and enjoyed more time at home with his family. But in 2017, Jerry noticed weight gain without a change in diet. "I went to my doctor for my annual physical and underwent a series of tests, but had… Mayo Clinic Connect brings together 2 women with leukemia, 46 years apartEditor's note: The Mayo Clinic Connect volunteer mentor featured in this story has asked that her Connect handle — @LoriBMT — be used in place of her name. In 2019, 65-year-old @LoriBMT sat in a Mayo Clinic lab area awaiting her turn for blood work. She had been in the hospital for more than six weeks following a bone marrow transplant. @LoriBMT is a positive person, but after weeks of feeling tired and week, she… Brothers mark 40th transplant anniversaryPete Suby thought he had the flu. He'd been exhausted for a while and had recently vomited at work. An appointment at Mayo Clinic would reveal a much more serious reason for his symptoms: Pete's kidneys were failing. He was just 25 years old. "They couldn't believe I was standing up," says Pete, who went straight to the ICU. It was February 1982. The news wasn't a complete surprise though. When Pete was in middle… A new heart, new hope for a newbornTravis Heidt was holding his son, Franklin, for the first time. "It was a very joyous time and also an overwhelming time," says the first-time parent. He was unsure of how to hold Franklin, unsure of how to care for him. But Travis knew that he and his wife, Morgan, would figure it out. They had a beautiful boy. He and Morgan had created a family. "The second that he came out, something changed inside… Pagination Patient Stories Go to page 11 Go to page 22 NextNext Page Share your experience Share your Mayo Clinic transplant experience with others using social media. 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