Lung Cancer Survivor Feels Connected to Hoag
“I was impressed with his expertise with robotic surgery,” she said. “I thought, ‘This is good. I can stay right here and be treated at Hoag.’”
Read Mary's StoryA Diabetes Success Story 75 Years in the Making
“It’s never too late to make a life change.”
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Bypass Patient Grateful for His Winning Team
Dan Ryan is a competitive person with an abiding appreciation for sports. So, when he refers to Anthony Caffarelli, M.D., as the “Tom Brady” of heart surgeons, the analogy commands attention. “It is pretty cool that you’re excited that the guy is going to give you a quintuple bypass,” said Dan, 59, who recently underwent … Read More
After 72 Years of Seizures, Epilepsy Patient Says Hoag Gave Him His Life Back
His seizures began at the age of 4. By the time Michael Merritt was 72, his epilepsy became so severe his wife was sure he was going to die. But in 2018, Michael’s doctors referred him to the Epilepsy Program at Hoag’s Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute, where he met Program Director David Millett, M.D., Ph.D. … Read More
Maternal Mental Health Patient Is Grateful for Her Experience
Asked why she chose to seek out the Hoag Maternal Mental Health Program, Sarah Levine describes a day in her life. Picture the scene: It’s smack-dab in the middle of one of those random heat waves and the air conditioning goes out (because, of course it does). Sarah is in the kitchen with twin babies … Read More
One Decision ‘Saved My Life’ – Hoag Patient Grateful for Doctor’s Diligence
Eugene Yim, M.D. Steve Prough and his wife, Kathy, decided to enroll under the care of Dr. Eugene Yim in August. He says, one month later, that decision saved his life. In September, in the midst of the pandemic, Steve visited Dr. Yim with a fever and a cough that had persisted for a week. … Read More
After a Lifelong Search, Gastroparesis Patient Finds Hope
Within minutes of their first meeting, Caitlin Houghton, M.D., said the words that Brittney Pisanelli, 33, had been hoping to hear for most of her life: “You have options.” “I started crying in her office,” Brittney said. “I had never been told that before. Someone wanted to help me. Someone wanted to help me function … Read More
Nurse Becomes First Patient of Hoag’s Bariatric Surgery Weight Loss Program
The weight gain happened slowly, following a back injury that benched the soccer-loving Lori Zaccari at the age of 31. Then health issues started to creep in – rising cholesterol levels and blood pressure, borderline diabetes. By the time Lori Zaccari was 44, her appearance and health had undergone a troubling transformation. She stopped posing … Read More
Virtual Connections Leading the Way
Daniel Diaz, 30, said one blessing in disguise of the COVID-19 pandemic was that his Hoag Type 1 diabetes support group meetings went virtual. He recently moved to San Diego and was upset at the possibility of not going to First Friday gatherings. “I was so sad about it, and then the pandemic hit; I … Read More
GERD Took Its Toll for 30 Years. An Advanced Procedure Gives Patient a New Start.
Frederick Tuerck knew he suffered from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a condition that causes acid reflux to backwash from the stomach, eroding the lining of the esophagus. Over time, this led to frequent pain traveling from his chest to his spine, leaving him increasingly frustrated. Over the course of 30 years, as he served his … Read More
How the Epilepsy Team’s Multidisciplinary Approach Restored a Family’s Smile
From her family’s smiling faces, it’s hard to imagine that just months before this photo was taken, Katy Cohen (pictured above on the left) was in and out of the hospital and even placed in a medically induced coma because of a condition that was causing her to rapidly decline. Katy’s youngest child was born at Hoag … Read More
Nurse ‘Navigates’ Her Father to Pain-Free Living
When Charlotte Davis’s dad complained about his back, the Hoag Spine Center nurse navigator knew two things: 1. The pain must be really bad for her active father to mention it and 2. Burak Ozgur, M.D., would be able to help. “We were at dinner, and I told her I was scared to death of … Read More