Patient Stories

St. John's Patient Stories
...................................................................................................................................................................................................

The patients who so generously share their personal stories on our Web site are your relatives, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Most consider themselves ordinary, but their stories couldn’t be more fascinating or inspiring. As you read these stories, you'll get some insight into St. John's Health System, our model of care and how our caregivers change people's lives every day.

Mark Grantham's Story

For most people with vision problems, undergoing laser vision correction may offer a new job opportunity, a better golf game, and of course, the freedom of not having to wear glasses or contact lenses. For 26-year-old quadriplegic Mark Grantham of Springfield, the procedure offered one step closer to the independent life he enjoyed before an accident while life guarding at his church’s day camp two years ago.

“Before the surgery, I’d have to rely on family members and home health aids to put my glasses on or my contacts in just so I could see when I woke up in the morning,” Grantham says. “For me, it’s a huge thing to not have to depend on anyone for sight.” Read Mark's story >>>

CANCER Joanne Eide of Republic was diagnosed with stage III ovarian cancer in 1998 after a hysterectomy. She participated in a clinical trial on the advice of her physician and has been cancer-free ever since. Read Joanne's story >>> Read all cancer stories >>>	PEDIATRIC Friday the 13th will always be a lucky day for 4-year-old Callie Lamb of Ava. After a week of what her parents and pediatrician first thought was the stomach flu, Callie saw St. John’s pediatric surgeon Gregg Ford, M.D. An hour later, Dr. Ford performed an emergency appendectomy. Read Callie's story >>> Read all pediatric stories >>>
HEART Nancy Twenter, 69, of Lebanon is no stranger to heart trouble. Twenter had a stent put in to open up an artery eight years ago, and suffers from angina. Her St. John’s cardiologist, David Cochran, M.D., once told her how to recognize the symptoms of a heart attack: “You’ll feel like an elephant is sitting on your chest,” she recalls him saying. Read Nancy's story >>> Read all heart stories >>>	WOMEN'S HEALTH One might think that the home of a family with five children under the age of 11 would be absolute pandemonium, but the Skopec home in Bolivar is anything but. However, “calm” didn’t exactly describe Steve and Sara after their first doctor’s appointment for what they thought was going to be their second child in 1996. Read Sara's story >>> Read all women's stories >>>
EMERGENCY TRAUMA Brandon Carnahan of Lebanon is a typical Ozarks 20-year-old – when he was a patient in St. John’s Hospital’s Burn Center, all he could think about was the fact that he had to miss a hunting trip to Texas with his stepdad because of his injuries. Read Brandon's story >>> Read all emergency trauma stories >>>	NEUROSCIENCE Deanna Ruda takes being a stay-at-home mom to a new level, which is not always easy for someone who has suffered from chronic migraine headaches most of her life. Read Deanna's story >>> Read all neuro stories >>>
ORTHOPEDICS Before Pauline Barker’s knee replacement surgery in January, the 66-year-old retired elementary school teacher had stopped doing many of the things she loved, such as taking her rambunctious dog Barclay for walks in her south-Springfield neighborhood, because the arthritic pain in her knee had become unbearable. Read Pauline's story >>> Read all orthopedics stories >>>	BEHAVIORAL HEALTH Halloween 2004 is one night that Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Brad Ziverk, 43, of Springfield, will never forget. “That was my first night in Iraq. Everything about it – the sights, sounds, smells, the heat – just blew me away,” he recalls. Read Brad's story >>> Read all behavioral health stories >>>
VIDEO STORIES