St. John's Patient
Stories
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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.
John Baker of Springfield has many
reasons to stay healthy. Before retiring to his hometown of
Springfield 12 years ago, he was a musician, teacher and minister of
music. Now 76, Baker has three children and six grandchildren, a
50-year marriage to wife Anna Mae, jobs substitute-teaching music at
area schools and teaching piano lessons, volunteer work delivering
hot meals to seniors and a strong faith in God to keep him active.
Baker has been a patient of St. John’s since moving back to the
Ozarks in 1996. In 2002, he underwent successful treatment for
bladder cancer, so when his urologist, Jeff Johnson, M.D., and
radiation oncologist Helen Kim, M.D., mapped out a non-surgical
treatment plan for his prostate cancer, he felt comfortable taking
their advice.
Read John's story >>>
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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 >>>
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