Featured patient story: Eileen

To see her today, you would never know little Claire was born three months premature in a desperate fight for her life.

The happy, curious 18-month-old is growing taller by the minute it seems . . . a far cry from the two-pound infant who spent 103 days in the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Newborn Intensive Care Unit.

Patients like Eileen know firsthand the power of your caring support. Because of friends like you, our caring staff was ready for Claire’s early arrival . . . and we were there when Eileen faced life-threatening heart problems soon after.

If you are interested learning more about Eileen's story and supporting Brigham and Women's Hospital, please visit www.supportbwh.org.

Patient story: Suzanne

Suzanne never felt sick. For the energetic, multitasking kindergarten teacher, aerobics instructor, and mother of two young children, her annual mammogram last fall was just one more item on her crowded to-do list. Until the doctor called her in for more tests.

When a biopsy revealed breast cancer, Suzanne knew she needed to make the hour-long drive from her home to Brigham and Women’s Hospital to map out her next steps. For her first meeting with the surgeon, Suzanne got out a notebook and pen to take notes…

“Then the nurse said, ‘You have a lot to deal with. I will take notes; you need
to be able to just listen,’” Suzanne recalls. “And I thought, ‘Who does that?’”

We do. At Brigham and Women’s Hospital, it’s often the small things that provide hope, that help our patients feel like part of our family. At the Brigham, we’re deeply committed to providing exceptionally skilled and compassionate patient-centered and family-oriented care.

Less than three months after what she thought was just another routine mammogram,
Suzanne had a mastectomy and breast reconstruction. Catching her cancer early meant she was able to recover without chemotherapy and radiation.

“It’s taken me awhile, but I’ve finally stopped saying, ‘I have cancer,’” Suzanne says gratefully. “Thanks to the amazing care of the doctors, nurses, and staff at the Brigham, I can now say, ‘I had cancer.’”

Now is the time to help save and change lives like Suzanne’s with a donation to Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Patient story: Alexis

During week 26 of her pregnancy, Alexis began having pain in her abdomen. After several hours of tests at Brigham and Women's Hospital she discovered that she had HELLP Syndrome (Hemolytic anemia, Elevated Liver enzymes, and Low Platelet count)-a very serious condition that affects liver function in the mother and can be harmful to both mother and child.

Alexis needed an emergency C-section. When her baby, Will, arrived he weighed only 1 pound, 9 ounces.

"I didn't really know about preemies, but I knew that having a baby this prematurely was not good," Will's father Billy remembers. "Luckily, we had a big support network."

The BWH nurses, surgeons, and exceptional staff were also there to help provide comfort to Billy and Alexis, who were worried, and lifesaving treatment to baby Will. After just a few months, baby Will was ready to go home. "He finally came home at 4 pounds, 12 ounces, so tiny and so wonderful and healthy," Alexis remembers.

With Will at home, Billy came up with an idea to have a fundraiser for cyclists to raise money for the hospitals that helped his son. In 2007, The Reilly's held the first Pedaling for Preemies event to show support for Brigham and Women's Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Children's Hospital Boston. To date, Pedaling for Preemies has raised more than $220,000 supporting BWH and Children's Hospital to provide funds for neonatal care, education, and research. "We'll always be grateful that Will is here today," Alexis says. "This is how we give back."

If you are interested in Pedaling for Preemies, send an email to pedaling4preemies@gmail.com. Join the cause on Facebook!

Costa's story

For Costa Sideridis, the tumor had been slowly growing undetected in his pituitary gland for as many as ten years. Then came crippling migraines that sapped his strength and threatened his work and home life. A CT scan revealed Costa had a benign pituitary adenoma — a tumor that not only caused his headaches but also secreted extra growth hormone into his body, almost imperceptibly enlarging his hands, feet and jaw.

Family members in the medical field recommended Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Costa met with Brigham and Women’s physician Dr. Edward R. Laws. The solution? Dr. Laws could use a minimally invasive procedure to remove the tumor that would reduce Costa’s hospital stay and send him home to his family sooner. The morning after the operation, Costa's headaches were completely gone. "It was like having a whole new life," he says.

Kristin's story

Kristin Wivagg was always an active person. She biked, worked out regularly and was always on the move. That’s why a cancer diagnosis stopped her in her tracks. At first, she thought she had just pulled a muscle. When the pain got worse and caused her to limp, she decided to see her primary care doctor at Faulkner Hospital. That doctor recommended an MRI. The images revealed a cancerous tumor on her pelvis.

“I was scared,” recalls Kristin. “But Dr. John Ready saw me the very next day and assembled a team of experts for my treatment. I had an aggressive round of chemotherapy and then surgery at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center to remove the tumor and they got the cancer!” she says triumphantly.

“It was tough, but thanks to great support from my doctors, the nursing staff, the physical therapists, and my family, I got through it,” she says.