As we usher in a new year, let’s revisit some of our favorite stories from the past year. From brave patients to dogs – and Panthers – with a purpose, we dare you not to smile or cry a little ... again.
- A Tale of Two Gregs: Greg Olsen is a Pro Bowl tight end for the Carolina Panthers. Greg Galloway is one of Olsen’s biggest fans. They’re also two fathers who share the bond of having children born with a congenital heart defect.
- Not-so Rowdy: Chemotherapy and radiation therapy can help heal the body. But pet therapy? That’s for the soul. Meet Rowdy, the happy, calm, 10-year-old, black Portuguese water dog that brings smiles to patients (and staff) during some of their most challenging days.
- Grateful to give thanks: After a difficult birth, Shelly Cawley’s body began to shut down and she was placed into a medically-induced coma. A skin-to-skin technique between baby and mother helped rouse Cawley just enough to improve her vital signs. She was then transported to Carolinas Medical Center’s intensive care unit. Nearly a year later, she paid a visit to the staff that helped keep her alive so that she could say thank you for allowing her to be Rylan’s mother.
- ‘Talking to Angels’: Delivering behavioral health care via computer or telephone doesn’t just help erase physical boundaries, it provides patients with the care they need where they live – typically through their trusted, local primary care provider.
- All About Attitude: A newlywed woman becomes sick on her honeymoon and gets some of the worst news imaginable – stage 4 cancer. In the weeks following, her positive attitude and outlook on life serves as inspiration to friends, family, strangers and staff at Carolinas HealthCare System’s Levine Cancer Institute Cleveland.
- A Voice for Alzheimer’s: Peter Oosterhuis, a former professional golfer and longtime golf analyst with the Golf Channel and CBS, and his wife, Roothie, used to travel the world together. Now they face a new challenge with Peter’s diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Enrollees in a clinical trial at Carolinas HealthCare System are hopeful that a drug could slow the progression of the disease.
- From Patient to Caregiver: A Levine Cancer Institute nurse was so humbled by and grateful for her experience as a patient with acute lymphocytic leukemia at Levine Children’s Hospital that she decided to pursue a career in nursing. In remission for over 12 years, her personal experience helps her empathize with her patients.
- Keeping the Faith: Born nearly 14 weeks premature, baby E’layah Faith had an uphill battle. But with her parents’ “Faith” and doctors trying everything to help her grow, the smallest baby ever born at Carolinas Medical Center at 10 ounces and 10 inches long is a Christmas miracle.
- Superman’s Message for Kids: Carolinas HealthCare System and Cam Newton teamed up to provide an easy-to-remember message to help kids get healthy together: 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily, 2 hours or less of screen time, 1 hour or more of exercise or physical activity and 0 sugary drinks.
- Seventy-Five and Alive: The System celebrated its 75th anniversary in October. In 1940, Charlotte Memorial Hospital opened its doors to the community. The System was featured in a documentary that aired on WTVI and it also held a festival for the community thanking them for their support for three quarters of a century.
