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Amazing Patient Stories
Heather McNamara's Story
Organ transplants have become somewhat standard, if not routine, over the years. But removing six organs at once? That's just what doctors at NewYork-Presbyterian did for seven-year old Heather McNamara, in a procedure that was anything but routine.
Heather was suffering from a cancerous tumor the size of a baseball that had entangled itself in her stomach, pancreas, spleen, intestines, liver and surrounding blood vessels and was considered inoperable by the other doctors the family consulted. Dr. Tomoaki Kato, Chief of the Division of Abdominal Organ Transplantation at NewYork-Presbyterian, had a different idea. In a 23-hour operation, he and seven other surgeons removed six organs from her body, cooled them in preservation fluid while they dissected the tumor, and then reimplanted the three organs that could be saved, while reconstructing other organs to take over different jobs. The surgery was high risk and mentally and physically exhausting to the physicians as well as the patient, but if successful, it was the best alternative for a normal life for Heather.
Heather's surgery required creativity – and it meant pushing the limits. While not completely free of complications, Heather is living a fairly "normal" life, just as a now nine-year old should. For that, Heather's mother Tina is grateful. As she puts it, "We came here with no hope and they gave us hope."
Matthew Long's Story
Firefighter Matthew Long was a marathon runner – until the day he was hit by a bus in midtown Manhattan as he was riding his bike to work during New York City's 2005 transit strike. He should have died: his pelvis was crushed, his arm and leg were broken, his shoulder was dislocated and he suffered traumatic internal bleeding. But a combination of his own high level of fitness and the skill of Dr. Dean Lorich and other doctors at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital not only saved his life but helped Matthew regain his health and his strength.
It took some 40 operations, 60 pints of blood transfusions, skin and muscle grafts, eight months in a wheelchair, and years of physical therapy, but Matthew persevered. Doctors helped rebuild his body and taught him to walk again. Matthew did the hard work of changing his attitude from frustration to determination.
Three years later, Matthew ran the New York Marathon. Two years after that, he finished an Iron Man Triathlon. Running marathons again may seem like nothing after Matthew Long faced the biggest challenge of his life, but it's nice to know he's back in the game.
Joe Tiralosi's Story
Most people die after 10 minutes without a heartbeat. Not Joe Tiralosi. The 56 year-old Brooklyn man's heart stopped beating for 47 minutes but he's here today to tell you about it. And he credits the doctors and nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian for bringing him back from the dead. "These doctors did not stop. There was nothing they wouldn't try – they did everything for me."
Joe didn't feel right that August day. He was sweating and generally felt unwell. He made it to the emergency room only to collapse with sudden cardiac arrest. That's when the doctors and nurses got to work, shocking him with a defibrillator eight times, giving him 4,500 chest compressions and inserting a breathing tube. When nothing was working, they kept going. They filled him with an anti-clotting solution, they removed a clot and they placed a stent in his artery. They refused to quit until he was stabilized and could be put into a medically-induced coma with special cooling pads that lowered his body temperature to prevent brain damage.
The doctors are awed by Joe's case and say it was the support, patience and understanding of Joe's family that pulled him through. They also say caring for Joe taught them the importance of working cooperatively, with doctors and nurses from many different specialties pulling together to save his life. Joe just calls it a miracle and is grateful to be alive and back with his family.
Nicole Marquez's Story
Nicole Marquez lives to dance. That once came easily, but after a six-story fall that broke her body and left doctors doubting that she would ever walk again, every step is now a major accomplishment.
No one quite knows what happened, but Nicole was found in the alley behind her Harlem apartment building some eight hours after apparently falling off the roof after she locked herself out and tried to climb in through a window. By the time she made it to NewYork-Presbyterian, doctors could see that the situation was dire: Nicole had suffered a broken neck, broken pelvis and ribs, a punctured lung, and severe blood loss from a laceration to her back. The team nursed her back with constant care through multiple surgeries, pneumonia, several mini-strokes, and two weeks on a ventilator.
Back home in Mississippi, Nicole spent a grueling four-months in a specialty hospital and then a rehabilitation center and is now rebuilding her life – and her dancing career. She is a sought-after motivational speaker and recently received her certification as a "Yoga Meets Dance" instructor. Says a grateful Nicole, "You can't stop this dancer. I've got a whole lot of living to do."
