Patient Stories

When Bill G. wanted to start exercising again but felt lethargic, he sought answers at Overlook Medical Center.

An advanced noninvasive cardiac imaging test revealed a 90% blockage in Bill's left anterior descending artery.  He and his cardiologist decided to relieve the blockage through an elective angioplasty with a stent.  Less than two weeks after the procedure, Bill "felt great" and he's now committed to taking better care of his health.

Sara's Story

As a working mom with two daughters—one of whom had health issues from an early age—Sara always puts her children and her husband, Raul, first. Unfortunately, that meant she ignored her own health concerns, which included shortness of breath, dizziness, heart palpitations and sometimes debilitating chest pains. But when her younger brother received a surprising diagnosis of a life-threatening heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), she realized she had it, too. Five years later, her HCM is under control, and she’s helping others realize that they can have the condition and still lead a normal life. 

In early 2021, Priscilla L. had her eyes squarely focused on competing in the high jump at the Tokyo Olympics. Then she got COVID-19. While her symptoms cleared up in a little more than a week, she was left with intermittent chest pain. She needed an expert in athletes and heart to let her know whether it was safe to compete. She turned to renowned sports cardiologist Dr. Matthew Martinez. Learn how he helped her get back into competition. 

At 36-years-old, Gina W. experienced a confusing array of uncomfortable symptoms. Specialist after specialist treated her for problems such as asthma and pneumonia. Her symptoms worsened until she was sent to Chilton Medical Center’s Emergency Department.

Once there, she was diagnosed within hours with congestive heart failure. Under the expert care of Chilton Medical Center doctors, Gina has received treatments that have significantly improved her quality of life while she awaits a heart transplant.

Due to congestive heart failure, Walter N. received a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) – a minimally invasive procedure designed for patients with severe aortic stenosis who are not candidates for conventional valve repair surgery.

“I never thought about going any place else for treatment,” Walter explained. “Everyone at Morristown Medical Center was friendly and they all were extremely knowledgeable. I felt comfortable and safe as soon as I was brought there.”

Today, at age 97, Walter continues to be active in his grandchildren’s lives, attending their baseball games and music concerts.

Bill is an active semi-retiree who enjoys hiking and kayaking, but thirty years of smoking finally took its toll when he experienced a dangerous type of heart attack, known as STEMI. Paramedics rushed him to Newton Medical Center, where he received the clot-busting drug called tPA to open his blocked arteries. They then transferred him to Morristown Medical Center for an interventional procedure that further corrected his blood flow. Not long after, he was back on the kayak and finally said goodbye to cigarettes.

Health care professionals at Newton Medical Center knew time was of the essence when they found Jay Z. collapsed in the hospital parking lot with symptoms of cardiac arrest. Once inside, Emergency Department staff quickly stabilized him, but a blockage in his artery was restricting blood flow to the brain. They transferred Jay to Morristown Medical Center, where cardiovascular experts performed a cardiac catheterization to clear the obstruction. The team also used therapeutic hypothermia protocols, which minimized Jay’s risk of permanent brain damage and gave his family back the husband and father they know and love.

As a personal trainer, Charlene thought she understood the human body well enough, but when her own attempts at pain relief failed, she sought professional help. She eventually had both hips replaced eight months a part at Morristown Medical Center. Today, she is completely pain free and continues to inspire her clients with her remarkable recovery.

Mickey S. has spent his life competing at a high level, so when his arthritic knee began to fail, he refused to give up running, despite the pain. As the races became increasingly more difficult, he turned to the orthopedic surgeons at Atlantic Health System, who planned a total joint replacement procedure that gave him the best chance of continuing to follow his passion.

Mickey says of his doctor, “He knew I would run, against his advice, and gave me a knee that would work for that.”

There’s no greater disappointment for athletes like Adrianne than when an injury lands them on the sidelines. She turned to the experts at Atlantic Sports Health, who not only diagnosed and treated her hip fracture, but also understood its physical and psychological impact. They worked with Adrianne to develop a physical rehabilitation regime that addressed all of her fitness goals and within three months, she was back at the gym preparing for a marathon.

Barry R. thought he knew all about the debilitating effects of strokes from his family history, but when he suffered one of his own at age 61, he learned just how far treatments had advanced. Thanks to telestroke technology and a medical team ready for his arrival at Overlook Medical Center, Barry received the clot-busting medicine tPA within just 14 minutes – a record for the hospital at that time and well within the 45-minute national standard.

Although it's rare for a 31-year-old to experience a stroke, doctors at Hackettstown Medical Center were quick to suspect that was the case with Lindsey S. When a CT scan and angiogram revealed a tear in her carotid artery, she was flown by medical helicopter to Overlook Medical Center's Stroke Center, where neurosurgeons performed a complex procedure that offered the best chance of survival. The surgery was a success and Lindsey quickly began to resume a normal life with her husband and two children.

With a high-powered legal career, hobbies like waterskiing and paddle boarding, and an equally active family at home, it was hard for Mark B. to fathom slowing down. That started to change when he began experiencing seizures and other difficulties. When he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, specifically a frontal lobe meningioma, Mark connected with the experts at the Gerald J. Glasser Brain Tumor Center. His surgeon successfully removed the tumor, including unwrapping parts of the tumor from around Mark’s optical and olfactory nerves.

Robyn had been treating her epilepsy with medication for several years, but after a seizure caused her to crash her car into a telephone pole, injuring herself and her son, she was ready to consider surgical treatment. Specialists at Overlook Medical Center’s Level 4 Epilepsy Center isolated the region of Robyn’s brain that was causing her symptoms and performed epilepsy surgery to correct it. Since then, she’s rejuvenated her life with advancements in both her career and musical pursuits.

Sara's Story

As a working mom with two daughters—one of whom had health issues from an early age—Sara always puts her children and her husband, Raul, first. Unfortunately, that meant she ignored her own health concerns, which included shortness of breath, dizziness, heart palpitations and sometimes debilitating chest pains. But when her younger brother received a surprising diagnosis of a life-threatening heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), she realized she had it, too. Five years later, her HCM is under control, and she’s helping others realize that they can have the condition and still lead a normal life. 

For 33-year-old Isabel C., family means everything. When she learned she had a brain tumor shortly after giving birth, her first concern was for her two young children. To give herself the best chance of conquering her tumor, Isabel entrusted her surgeon at the Glasser Brain Tumor Center to remove as much of the tumor as possible. Doing so required a specialized and extremely precise surgical approach.

Laura’s pregnancy was going smoothly until the 30th week when her water broke. She headed straight for Overlook Medical Center, where three weeks later, she gave birth to premature twins.

“I would definitely recommend Overlook Medical Center to any of my friends who were expecting babies," says Laura. "I’m confident that they would be really happy with the care that they received.”

Most couples don’t expect to exchange vows in a hospital, but that’s exactly what happened when Marie went into labor just days before her wedding to Michael. They didn’t want to list “fiancée” as the father on the birth certificate, so Michael and Marie asked the chaplain at Morristown Medical Center to marry them. Thirty seconds after the husband kissed the bride, doctors performed a C-section and delivered a healthy baby boy. It was the best wedding present newly-wed parents could ask for.

Jill D., 55, of Hewitt, NJ, had been suffering from back pain for years. After two years of treating her spondylolisthesis medicinally, the pain radiating down her back and legs became unbearable. Thankfully, her sister recommended a consult with Scott A. Meyer, MD, who explained that Jill would be an excellent candidate for the TOPS clinical trial.

Jill, the first patient in NJ to participate in the trial, is now pain-free. "Thanks to Dr. Meyer, I feel like a completely new person.”

Firefighter Daryl R. is used to putting others first, often at the risk of his own well-being. However, when his uncontrolled diabetes resulted in a serious wound on his foot, he knew he could no longer deny there was a problem. On the advice of a fellow firefighter, he went to Overlook Wound Healing – Union Campus for expert care and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Doctors there saved his foot and helped him better manage his diabetes.

When Nancy M. accidentally fell down a flight of stairs, shattering her leg in 30 places, she wasn’t sure how much mobility she’d ever have again. She arrived for physical therapy at Hackettstown Medical Center in a wheelchair and after 27 sessions of strength and agility exercises, was able to walk once more. Since then, Nancy’s continued to progress and has even been able to take up gardening.