Patient Stories

ROBINSON VISITING NURSE AND HOSPICE BROUGHT ME HOME AGAIN
In October 2012, Edward Cowan could not keep food in his stomach. He was on oxygen all the time and had many health issues like chronic heart failure, a brain disorder and diabetes. He needed care around the clock and was often in the hospital for a long time. Edward wanted to be at home no matter how much care was needed. Edward’s family turned to Robinson Visiting Nurse and Hospice for help.

“It was important for me to be at home, because that’s where I wanted to be,”Edward said. “I started to feel down and depressed being in the hospital for so long.” Robinson Visiting Nurse and Hospice sprang into action to provide Edward’s medical care at home, just as he and his family requested.

Robinson Visiting Nurse and Hospice made family teaching and involvement a very important part of Edward’s care plan. “Everybody started to work together, and I didn’t have to worry about anything,” said Edward.

To learn more about our home care services, visit robinsonmemorial.org/homecare or call (330) 297-8899.

AFTER MY KNEE REPLACEMENT, I'M BACK TO MY PASSION OF REMODELING
Keith Miller has a passion in life for construction and remodeling. But after years of labor work, he was having intense pain in his right knee. “Over time, I had learned to live with the pain, until I was working on one job where the pain became excruciating,” he said. “When I went to my surgeon Dr. Matthew Kay, he told me my knee was just bone against bone.”

Keith had his right knee replaced in February 2012. “I had a good feeling about Dr. Kay, I trusted him and knew he was going to fix my knee,” Keith said. “I woke up from surgery and my knee didn’t hurt! I was so used to having the pain before; it was wonderful not to feel the pain anymore.”

After just three short weeks of physical therapy at the Robinson Rehab Center and Sport Clinic, Keith is back to his passion of remodeling. “I was so determined to get back to my life,” he said. “Since the surgery and rehabilitation, I feel fantastic and back to doing what I love.”

Call (330) 678-8801 for an appointment.
Learn more about our Orthopaedic Services.

REGAINING CONTROL AFTER YEARS OF PAIN AND HUMILIATION

Brenda Miller’s problems started about six years ago with surgery to remove a perirectal cyst. That turned out to be just the beginning of a long, painful struggle with bowel trouble.

“They had to cut into the rectum to remove the cyst,” she said. “I had delivered an 8 lb. 4 oz. baby, too. My doctor diagnosed me with irritable bowel syndrome. The pain in my colon was so severe, I was eating just enough to live. Last year I developed diverticulitis, and Dr. Yuh removed my descending colon. Medication didn’t help the pain. I got much worse in February of this year, and I was incontinent all the time. I had no control of my bowels. I didn’t even know it when I went. It happened during all facets of my life. You can’t imagine how humiliating that is. It happened at night, at work, at intimate moments, at play, at the most inappropriate times.”

Brenda’s loss of bowel control changed her life. She had been working full time at two jobs, as a nurse with critically ill children and as a cashier. Her incontinence made it impossible for her to safely nurse kids. “I got depressed and wouldn’t leave the house or eat. I also started getting urinary incontinence at night. My daughter gave birth to her third child and she needed me, but I couldn’t help her because I felt trapped and like I couldn’t go anywhere. My husband was wonderfully supportive, but I just felt hopeless.”

She made an appointment with Dr. Yuh in May. He performed a colonoscopy and sent her home with medication. “His office called a few days later to see how I was doing. I went in again, and that’s when he suggested the InterStim procedure. The representative from Medtronic happened to be in his office at the time, so they both sat down and answered all my questions. I became his first InterStim bowel patient.” 

Two weeks later, Brenda returned for her trial assessment. “He gave me a local anesthetic at the site. When he implanted the lead, my pain was gone within an hour. That was on a Friday. I wore it for a week, and by Sunday I was running outside with my grandkids. By Monday all my symptoms were gone. It was just amazing!”

In June, Brenda returned for her implant surgery. “I trusted Dr. Yuh completely,” she said. “He’s so compassionate, and he was right there with me the whole time. It was outpatient surgery, and I rested at home for a couple of days afterward. I only needed one pain pill. Within a day I was fine, just like the trial. From that day on, I’ve never had another episode. You can’t even see where the wires went in. Now I sleep like a baby. The pain has gone away completely, as well as all my irritable bowel symptoms.”

Today, Brenda is volunteering at the free clinic, going to church, having lunch with friends and enjoying her grandchildren again. She’s even planning a canoe trip. “It’s renewed my relationship with my husband,” she said. “After almost 30 years, we’re like newlyweds. It was a life-changing event for me. I feel like I’ve been given my life again. It’s just a miracle!”

Find out more about InterStim Therapy.

IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS I COULD HAVE DIED
Dave Tuttle is one tough guy. He works at the hospital in engineering, never thinking he’d become a surgery patient. Last summer, however, he thought he pulled a muscle in his abdomen. He went golfing the next day, but the pain kept getting worse. The following morning, “I was hurting bad so I went into the Robinson ER. The doctor ruled out a hernia or a pulled muscle. They put me on morphine and sent me for a CAT scan."

That scan revealed a ruptured colon. He was wheeled into surgery later that day, where Dr. John Gusz found a ruptured abscess due to diverticulitis. Dave woke up with a colostomy bag.“Because I waited three days, I was septic,” said Dave. “My body cavity was totally infected,including my liver. Dr. Gusz said I probably had less than 24 hours, and I would have fallen over dead.” Dave stayed in the ICU for three days,then moved to a surgical floor for another four days.“My surgeon couldn’t believe how fast I recovered,from being near death in the ICU to clamoring to go home a week later.”

A surgical saga
Dave had the colostomy for about two months,then went back to Robinson to have it reversed.Once again, his high tolerance for pain caused trouble. “When Dr. Gusz went in for the second time, he found two abscesses. I had no pain,so we had no idea they were there. I was back in surgery for nearly eight hours that day.”

Dave left the hospital with an ileostomy (a bag attached to his small intestine). After nine weeks, he went back to the OR a third time to have it reversed.“I was anxious to get the third surgery and get rid of that bag,” he said. “They were able to go in through the ileostomy incision, so it wasn’t as intense. I stayed in the hospital a week again. Dr. Gusz was very good. He never pulled any punches and explained every little detail. When I was really discouraged during healing, he sat with me for half an hour until I started laughing."

"After the third surgery, my colon finally started working again. That was back in November. Now I’m back to eating whatever I want.”

Healing and grateful
After each surgery, Robinson Visiting Nurse came out to Dave’s house to help him with his ostomy bags, teaching him how to change them and what to watch for as he healed. “They’re a good, caring group of people at Robinson,” he said. Before his first surgery, Dave rode his bike 20 miles at a stretch. Today, he’s back on his bike and lifting weights. “Dr. Gusz says I’m all healed up and don’t have to come back. I can only ride a few miles, but I feel good. I’m slowly working up to full strength.”

FINDING THE RIGHT SURGEON
Debra Pugel suffered for years with fibroid tumors. “I was having severe cramping and a lot of bleeding, which led to my iron being very low,” Debra explained. “My previous doctor brushed off my symptoms. He felt my uterus was too big to do a minimally invasive hysterectomy. I wanted an outpatient minimally invasive procedure that would allow me to heal much more quickly than a traditional “open” surgery. I didn’t want to be down for six weeks.”

That’s when Debra discovered Jennifer Carroll,MD. “I saw an article about a patient of Dr. Carroll’s who underwent a minimally invasive hysterectomy,”said Debra. “I went to Dr. Carroll to see what options she could give me. She’s so easy to talk to, and I felt she took my symptoms seriously. We tried an IUD, which would have stopped the bleeding for about five years, but it couldn’t be inserted because the tumors were blocking it. We tried medication for about a year. It got to the point that my iron was so low, we decided to do the hysterectomy.”

Correcting years of pain
Debra’s cramping and bleeding often kept her at home. “Those days when it was bad, I wouldn’t go out much,” she said. “I had to be careful where I went because I could bleed through at any time. A couple of days I had to leave work due to severe cramping.”

She had an ultrasound at the Robinson Imaging Center in Streetsboro and pre-optesting at the hospital. “The day of surgery,you’re assigned a nurse,” she said. “She was very personable and made me feel at ease. The anesthesiologist came in and explained everything, too. The staff was great!”

“I was so grateful that Dr. Carroll was willing to try the hysterectomy laparoscopically. I had an ultrasound right before surgery, and my uterus was the size of a cantaloupe. She came in to see me just before surgery to see if I had any questions. That’s when I told her I wanted to keep my ovaries, and it didn’t phase her.”

Debra stayed one night in the hospital for observation. “I had no pain whatsoever. I took Motrin for swelling but felt nothing. It was amazing!” Experiencing little or no pain is one of the potential benefits from a minimally invasive hysterectomy over traditional surgery.

A speedy recovery
Debra was also amazed at how quickly she healed. “I came home on a Tuesday morning. I went out to dinner Thursday evening, then shopped and did laundry that weekend. The following weekend was Christmas, and it was like nothing ever happened. I was fine! Everything’s great, and I’m loving life.”

Her advice to other women: “Don’t be afraid. It was so easy for me, and I feel great. I would recommend this surgery and Dr. Carroll to anyone. I wish I had this surgery two years ago."

THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM