Celia was happily picking out flowers, tasting cakes and trying on dresses for her daughter’s spring wedding - until she found a lump in her breast.
Suddenly, she was less concerned with the details of the wedding and more focused on living long enough to attend.
So she concentrated all of her energies on beating cancer. She underwent surgery. And when her daughter’s wedding day arrived, she was still receiving chemo and radiation treatments at the Mabry Center for Cancer Care.
But she made it to the wedding.
There, she danced and cried tears of happiness.
Now, more than four years later, she’s celebrating life with her husband, daughter, son-in-law - and her first grandchild.
Suddenly, she was less concerned with the details of the wedding and more focused on living long enough to attend.
So she concentrated all of her energies on beating cancer. She underwent surgery. And when her daughter’s wedding day arrived, she was still receiving chemo and radiation treatments at the Mabry Center for Cancer Care.
But she made it to the wedding.
There, she danced and cried tears of happiness.
Now, more than four years later, she’s celebrating life with her husband, daughter, son-in-law - and her first grandchild.
At first, Sarah thought it was just her arthritis. But the pain kept growing.
Eventually it hurt to get out of bed. It hurt to stand. Walking became agony and sleep just a memory. She couldn’t take it any more, so the substitute teacher from Orangeburg decided it was time to do something.
She called her doctor.
He referred her to a local orthopaedic surgeon on the medical staff at the Regional Medical Center. The surgeon discovered that part of Sarah’s spine had collapsed, squeezing her sciatic nerve and sending waves of pain through her body.
Together, they explored the treatment options and decided to surgically fuse her spine at the Regional Medical Center. This would help support her spine and prevent it from pinching her nerve.
Her surgery was a success. And her HealthPlex rehabilitation therapists helped her learn to move again without pain. So, now she’s able to once again share her knowledge and experience with students.
Eventually it hurt to get out of bed. It hurt to stand. Walking became agony and sleep just a memory. She couldn’t take it any more, so the substitute teacher from Orangeburg decided it was time to do something.
She called her doctor.
He referred her to a local orthopaedic surgeon on the medical staff at the Regional Medical Center. The surgeon discovered that part of Sarah’s spine had collapsed, squeezing her sciatic nerve and sending waves of pain through her body.
Together, they explored the treatment options and decided to surgically fuse her spine at the Regional Medical Center. This would help support her spine and prevent it from pinching her nerve.
Her surgery was a success. And her HealthPlex rehabilitation therapists helped her learn to move again without pain. So, now she’s able to once again share her knowledge and experience with students.
Christmas Day 2007 was perfect. Karen and her husband were expecting their first child in just a few weeks.
It was the next day that Karen developed a headache. A bad headache. Bad enough to make her call her doctor.
And it’s a good thing she did. She had developed preeclampsia – dangerously high blood pressure during the late stages of pregnancy.
Her doctor had her stay overnight for observation at Her Place, the Regional Medical Center’s maternity center. Her doctor then ordered her to stay in bed at home for the next week.
As soon as it was safe for Karen to deliver her baby, her doctor induced labor at Her Place. Throughout the night and the following day she stayed under the careful watch of Mrs. Johnnie – a nurse with many years of experience caring for women in similar situations.
Mrs. Johnnie monitored Karen’s health and that of her baby, while meticulously monitoring her blood pressure and administering her blood pressure medication.
That night, her son Austin arrived – healthy, happy and everything that Karen and her husband could have hoped for.
After the care she received from her doctor, Mrs. Johnnie and the Her Place staff, it’s no surprise that Karen is planning to deliver her second child at the Regional Medical Center's Her Place.
It was the next day that Karen developed a headache. A bad headache. Bad enough to make her call her doctor.
And it’s a good thing she did. She had developed preeclampsia – dangerously high blood pressure during the late stages of pregnancy.
Her doctor had her stay overnight for observation at Her Place, the Regional Medical Center’s maternity center. Her doctor then ordered her to stay in bed at home for the next week.
As soon as it was safe for Karen to deliver her baby, her doctor induced labor at Her Place. Throughout the night and the following day she stayed under the careful watch of Mrs. Johnnie – a nurse with many years of experience caring for women in similar situations.
Mrs. Johnnie monitored Karen’s health and that of her baby, while meticulously monitoring her blood pressure and administering her blood pressure medication.
That night, her son Austin arrived – healthy, happy and everything that Karen and her husband could have hoped for.
After the care she received from her doctor, Mrs. Johnnie and the Her Place staff, it’s no surprise that Karen is planning to deliver her second child at the Regional Medical Center's Her Place.
Delores is living proof: mammography saves lives.
By the time she first noticed the lump in her breast, it had grown to the size of a pea.
Fortunately, she already had scheduled a mammogram appointment at the Regional Medical Center’s Breast Health Center, the area’s only facility dedicated exclusively to breast health. Using the Breast Health Center’s digital mammography equipment – the first such technology in our area – the team confirmed her lump to be an early stage cancer and scheduled surgery to remove it.
After her surgery at Regional Medical Center, and ongoing therapy through the Mabry Center for Cancer Care, she’s cancer-free. And her family couldn’t be more relieved. In fact, she says the experience has brought her closer together with her sister and brothers.
She now urges all women to perform regular breast self-exams, see their doctor regularly and most importantly – to get mammograms. Because the sooner you can identify cancer, the better your chances for beating it.
By the time she first noticed the lump in her breast, it had grown to the size of a pea.
Fortunately, she already had scheduled a mammogram appointment at the Regional Medical Center’s Breast Health Center, the area’s only facility dedicated exclusively to breast health. Using the Breast Health Center’s digital mammography equipment – the first such technology in our area – the team confirmed her lump to be an early stage cancer and scheduled surgery to remove it.
After her surgery at Regional Medical Center, and ongoing therapy through the Mabry Center for Cancer Care, she’s cancer-free. And her family couldn’t be more relieved. In fact, she says the experience has brought her closer together with her sister and brothers.
She now urges all women to perform regular breast self-exams, see their doctor regularly and most importantly – to get mammograms. Because the sooner you can identify cancer, the better your chances for beating it.
Ellouise is a force of nature.
Now in her 70s, the former Hope Learning Center teacher still welcomes every day with boundless energy.
So, when her doctor told her she would need to have a hysterectomy, she didn’t want the surgery to slow her down.
Fortunately her gynecologist is one of a handful of surgeons in our state who perform laparoscopic hysterectomy, which can dramatically reduce recovery time, discomfort and scarring. So, she was able to have the surgery she needed and be back on her feet the very next day.
In fact, her surgery at the Regional Medical Center was so successful that she never took her prescribed pain medications. She says she was never in enough pain to bother with them.
Or, maybe she just didn’t want to slow down long enough to fill the prescription.
Now in her 70s, the former Hope Learning Center teacher still welcomes every day with boundless energy.
So, when her doctor told her she would need to have a hysterectomy, she didn’t want the surgery to slow her down.
Fortunately her gynecologist is one of a handful of surgeons in our state who perform laparoscopic hysterectomy, which can dramatically reduce recovery time, discomfort and scarring. So, she was able to have the surgery she needed and be back on her feet the very next day.
In fact, her surgery at the Regional Medical Center was so successful that she never took her prescribed pain medications. She says she was never in enough pain to bother with them.
Or, maybe she just didn’t want to slow down long enough to fill the prescription.