- Cancer Care, Senior Care, Wellness, Uncategorized, Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogRobert Smith was a healthy 62-year old runner when he first found the lump on the left side of his neck. Stage 4 head and neck cancer took him completely by surprise. A little more than a year later, after surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, the Annapolis attorney is cancer free and putting his life back together. He looks back on the whirlwind year he spent in treatment, thankful that he had a nurse navigator to guide him through the complicated process, and the Oncology Survivorship Rehabilitation Program to support him as he continues his road to recovery. My wife, Sherrie and I were, in a word “terrified.” We had no idea what we were about to encounter, who to go to for help, and most importantly what resources are available to treat the various symptoms and side effects that arise during and after treatment. It all works because of the nurse navigators and what they do. They’re like the air traffic controllers at the airport that direct everything. From setting up appointments, dealing with insurance companies, and even arranging for medical equipment to be delivered to your house. My nurse navigator Jackie Shanahan was indispensable during the entire treatment and follow-up process and worked with my wife and me all the way. She scheduled all appointments with doctors and the infusion center for hydration, she put us in touch with the right people, answered our questions honestly, and walked us through everything, including helping us learn to take care of the feeding tube, suggesting shakes and even ordering the suction machine when I needed it. If we needed anything at all, all we had to do was call. She got us medicine and doctor’s slips for blood tests. She did the paperwork for medical insurance purposes. She helped us understand and obtain the resources that were available at each stage of the process. I had some swallowing, talking, and eating issues, and Jackie referred me to a speech therapist to work on my speech and learn to eat solid food again. She also made an appointment for a lymphedema therapist at the hospital who helped me with swelling and stiffness in my face and neck. During this time, I was one of the first people in the Oncology Survivorship Rehabilitation Program that’s just starting, and it was a huge resource. Following active treatment is when patients need the most care to sort out how to handle the various symptoms and get back their daily lives. The nurses there sent me to see a nutritionist for my weight issues. I was given a booklet with contact information for my entire medical team and a summary of my diagnosis, surgery and treatment. They gave me monitoring guidelines, recommendations for risk factors and possible side effects I might still encounter. They have everything covered and they pledged to be available whenever I have a need. We have a hidden jewel just a couple miles away from my home, with the most amazing medical care right in our own back yard. What they do is not paid by medical insurance, but they are so essential to the whole program. The costs of nurse navigators are absorbed by the hospital, and I just don’t know how it would work without them. Treating cancer takes a village, and that’s what I’ve got, a medical village, and I know who to contact and what is available to me. I have not been left at home alone in the dark.
- Men's Health, Women's Health, Heart Care, Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogWhen Robert Youngblood and his wife, Beatrice walked into the hospital on July 29th, they were excited to see their granddaughter and her brand new baby girl. The 79-year-old Glendale resident had no inkling that he was just minutes away from a major heart attack, but he’s thankful he was here when it happened. We went down to the hospital to see our new great granddaughter, Paris Francesca. Grandma was holding her, and she handed her over to me. About 45 seconds later, I broke out into a cold sweat. I recognized it right away. I just handed the baby over to my wife, and I guess I said I wasn’t feeling right. The next thing I knew I was stretched out on the floor. Everybody else just took over, and it seemed like half of Anne Arundel Medical Center was in the maternity ward where I was. At first, I didn’t feel any pain, but by the time they got me to the emergency room, my pain was getting close to a ten out of ten. It was really starting to hurt. The doctors and nurses were there doing all the necessary things, and they ended up putting a stent in. Everything was just handled so quickly and it was like military precision. It is a top notch plus organization. After that, when I was in a room, I was treated well by everyone—even the nurses that come in to stick your finger and check your blood all night. I nicknamed them vampires, but I smile when I say it. Even they were truly great. Robert’s wife, Beatrice agrees. Although it was a horrible thing to go through, she says it couldn’t have happened at a better place. I can only say that if anyone were to ask me where should they go if they need a hospital, Anne Arundel would be my first choice. Absolutely. The picture is still in my mind, how a deluge of nurses came into the room, and then the doctors came. The next thing I knew they were wheeling him down the hall, and they were making sure family was following—making sure we were all there and taking care of us, too. We stood out in the hall while they were in the emergency room with him, and my son said, ‘look at the staff, look how everybody is here.’ They were calm and just doing what needed to get done. It was calming for us. I’ve noticed, even when you walk in the door, everyone smiles. I’ve yet to have someone that’s not spoken to me, even staff members walking down the hall, they will smile.
- Cancer Care, Women's Health, Pediatrics, Uncategorized, Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogElma Courtenay was treated for Breast Cancer at the DeCesaris Cancer Institute. She says just knowing she was in the best hands possible helped her focus her energy on getting well. “You know you hear the word cancer, and the first word that pops into your head is death. When I was given the diagnosis, my mind was a complete blank. Then Dr. Tafra said something that made all the difference. When she first saw me, she said, “We’re going to get you down to a healthy weight.” Those were the words of life and hope. I thought, ‘that could take a long time,’ and, immediately, I knew I was going to live. And I held on to those words every single day. I was given chemo to treat the breast tumor so I could have the surgery. My nurse navigator was so amazing. I had never heard of a nurse navigator before, but it was such a godsend. They walk you through everything so you’re focusing on healing yourself and not worrying about who you have to make appointments with. Just knowing that she was always there at a moment’s notice to return my call immediately was amazing. It just made everything so literally stress-free because the one worry I did not have in my life at the time was my medical attention and care. I sensed and I knew that I was in the best of care possible and the rest was up to me. I really focused on keeping everything positive; not listening to news, and even being very selective of the music I was listening to. I changed my thought process, and I welcomed the medication. I saw it as the airstrike coming into my body to get rid of the bad army. I cut out all processed food, all sugar, all carbs. I ate very natural organic foods. I dropped 25 pounds. It sounds strange but I felt healthier. And the tumor shrank beyond my doctor’s expectations. When I was first diagnosed, a lumpectomy was not on the table. It was going to be a mastectomy. But the tumor shrank enough for a lumpectomy. Then, after the surgery, during my radiation treatment, my husband who is in the Marine Corps, was transferred to Texas. But with the care and compassion that I received there at the Breast Center, I could not just stop right in the middle. I realized I was surrounded by compassionate people that really wanted to see me go through it with the least worries and stress. So I told my husband, “Go ahead and go. I am in very good hands.” And I was. Now that all my tests have come back negative, I’m getting ready to join him. And I am so, so thankful for the wonderful, wonderful care I got at Anne Arundel Medical Center. Being in a place where I could get the quality of care, the attention that they give to their patients made a big difference in my recovery.”
- Women's Health, Pediatrics, Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogWhen Julie Hubbard developed Type I (adult-onset) diabetes, she had been preparing for an in vitro fertilization (IVF) and hoping to become pregnant. Diabetes immediately put the 34-year-old Annapolis woman in a high risk category. “When I ended up in the emergency room, and they told me I had Type I diabetes, my biggest fear was whether I would be able to carry my baby.” Her doctor at the Shady Grove Fertility Center, Gilbert Mottla, MD, had already helped her to conceive and deliver her first child, born two years earlier. When diabetes struck, Dr. Mottla immediately referred her to the Center for Maternal and Fetal Medicine. They specialize in treating expectant mothers with high-risk health conditions and obstetrical complications. Working closely with Dr. Mottla and his nurse Anne Stegner, RN, they helped Julie complete the IVF. When she became pregnant, Jeffrey Spencer, MD, William Sweeney, MD, and diabetic educator, Maureen Connick, RN, helped her manage her diabetes and coached her through her pregnancy. “They helped me get on an insulin pump, and worked with me through it all.” The following August, Julie delivered a healthy baby boy. She now has two young sons, and says she is grateful for the specialized care she received through the programs at AAMC. Before her first IVF at Shady Grove, she had tried other methods at a medical center in another state, but was unsuccessful. When she came to Annapolis, she and her husband chose to pursue having a family with the help of Shady Grove because of their reputation. “They really have a very good way walking patients through what the problem might be and determining what the options are and how to proceed,” she says. “It’s very individualized in terms of a patient’s own personal needs and medical histories. Both Shady Grove and the high-risk group worked very closely together and with us.”
- Community, Wellness, Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogCaring for patients and practicing medicine became a passionate personal commitment for Charles Kinzer, MD. So, when the doctor, retired from his primary care practice, he dedicated the next 15 years to caring for patients free of charge. Dr. Kinzer volunteered his time at the Annapolis Outreach Center (now the Community Health Center) which provides free medical care to underserved and underinsured patients. “The center is important because it provides a way for patients who have limited resources to go for primary care,” Dr. Kinzer says. “I wanted to keep a hand in medicine, and stay involved in the field,” Dr. Kinzer says. So, in addition to conferences and continuing education, he spent one day a month seeing patients at the center. It provided him with a way to maintain a link with the community—a community that has always been important to him. He says he first chose to come to Annapolis in 1965 because, at the time, it was a country town with a couple of colleges and the seat of the State Government. When he joined AAMC, there were only 65 doctors on staff, and everyone knew each other. Even though the town and the medical center have grown significantly since then, Dr. Kinzer believes it’s important to hold on to the personal aspect of medicine. “Put away your machines and listen to your patients,” he says, “They are telling you the diagnosis.” Dr. Kinzer brought that personal touch, and deep concern for the person as a whole to the patients he saw at the free clinic. “They all had stories to tell,” he says. “That’s what made medicine fascinating.” He recently retired from his volunteer position at the clinic after 48 years in of practicing medicine and caring for our community. Now he enjoys going to lunch with the RODEO gang (Retired Old Docs Eating Out). It’s a way of keeping up with partners and friends.
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