Patient Stories
Elmer Goodman - Heart Failure
In 1999, Elmer was stopped on his motorcycle when a drunk driver slammed into him. Elmer was thrown 125 feet and suffered a collapsed lung, ruptured bladder and other serious injuries. He spent three weeks at Strong Memorial Hospital as a result. About ten years later, though, Elmer would find himself needing help from Strong and the University of Rochester Medical Center once again.
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Paul Herzog - Epilepsy
Standing in the kitchen of his family’s farmhouse, Paul Herzog had an experience that would end up defining much of his life. “I was standing in front of the stove, looking at the spice rack,” Paul recalls. “I could not make out the wording on the spices. That was the first seizure I remember.”
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Jerry Jaszko - Colorectal Cancer
Jerry Jaszko was relaxing on the couch, watching TV, when he started experiencing difficulty breathing. He was scared, and so was his wife, Darla. They raced to the emergency room that day in November 2007, fearing for his life.
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Claire Elizabeth Kowal - Rare Heart Defect
After having two healthy boys, Jennifer and Pete Kowal thought it was strange that the ultrasound technologist and obstetrician were having trouble seeing their baby's heart. They had brought the boys to the ultrasound thinking it would be a routine appointment. Their boys, Simon, not even 2 1/2, and Oliver, then 1, had reached their limit of patience after 20 minutes of scanning, so Pete took them out for a break. That's when the doctor turned to Jennifer, pointed to the baby's heart on the screen and told her that they weren't having trouble seeing the heart, there was something wrong with the heart.
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Aisha O'Mally - Heart Transplant
In February of 2004, at the young age of 25, Aisha O’Mally was given some of the best news of her life: There was a new heart waiting for her. Hours later, that heart would begin beating inside Aisha’s body—something she never could have imagined just a year earlier.
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David Pogue - Cardiac Arrest
When David Pogue regained consciousness, he looked up to see a surprising sight: People calmly walking on treadmills to either side of him. David had been working out at the URMC Cardiac Rehab Center. He was about to step onto one of those treadmills himself when he experienced a cardiac arrest.
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Ruth Pontera - Long QT Syndrome
When Ruth Pontera was about 40 years old, she was at a company party and had just been asked to dance when she fainted to the ground. When Ruth had her first fainting spell, she never suspected that she was going to have a remarkable impact on people around the world.
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Anders Swanson - Brain Tumor
On vacation in Florida, 18-month-old Anders Swanson ran up and down the shore with his parents, Amy and Garth. It would be the last family vacation before his little brother, Beckett, would be born in mid-spring. After returning home to Batavia, Amy became aware that something was wrong with young Anders. What had seemed like airsickness — he was vomiting on the plane — didn’t ease up when they touched down. And as the month drew on, Anders began shaking and stumbling.
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Michelle Sweeney - Stroke
On November 6, Michelle Sweeney woke up at her usual time for work. As she stood in the bathroom, though, she felt a strange sensation. “I had a weird feeling,” Michelle recalls. “I felt like I might be bleeding. I kept looking at my hands and arms, and then looking at myself in the mirror. I thought, ‘What’s the matter with me?’
Read Michelle's Story »
Our Locations
Strong Memorial Hospital
(585) 275-2100
Highland Hospital
(585) 275-2821
Golisano Children's Hospital
(585) 473-2200
