Phoenix Attorney Recovers Sight After Brain Tumor Surgery At Barrow The statistics are shocking.Medical experts believe as many as one in every 10 people may have a brain tumor. The good news is that in most cases, a brain tumor will never interfere with your life. That , however, was not the case for Phoenix lawyer Ed Bull, however, who was rushed to Barrow Neurological Institute last November with a splitting headache and double vision.
At Barrow, doctors found a golf ball-sized brain tumor. Luckily the tumor was a pituitary gland mass, rarely malignant, but it had begun pushing on the optic never and, left untreated, could have made him blind.
"I felt like my head was spitting open, and by the time my wife got me to the ER, I was seeing double. One of my eyes was looking one way, and the other looking the other way. I was losing my sight," says Bull, the president of Phoenix law firm Burch & Cracchiolo. "When they told me I had a brain tumor, I instantly thought the worst. But, I was wrong."
Barrow neurosurgeon Andrew Little, MD, a pituitary tumor expert, says Bull was losing his eyesight rapidly when he met him in the Emergency Room. "There was bleeding into the pituitary tumor, which caused it to expand rapidly and press on the optic nerve, the nerve that controls vision. Prompt action was needed to save his vision."
The pituitary gland is located in the base of the skull between the optic nerves and largely controls hormones. Physicians say pituitary tumors generally grow very slowly. In rare cases, bleeding occurs inside the tumors and causes severe symptoms. The tumors are usually detected when they start to press on the optic nerves, causing vision problems. Other symptoms include nausea, weight change, loss of appetite, fatigue, joint pain, increase in shoe or ring size, and high blood pressure.
Bull's tumor was removed in a three-hour surgery with a minimally invasive technique through his nose. "I think if we had not jumped up and gotten to Barrow, this tumor might have made me blind or even killed me," says Bull. Experts say there is no way of knowing how long the tumor was growing. "I had no idea until that night. It was probably there for years."
Bull and his wife, Sue, and two daughters have nothing but praise for Dr. Little and the entire team at Barrow. "They were wonderful to us from check-in to check-out and beyond," says Bull, who adds that while his eyesight is back to normal now, but his life will never be "normal again. I appreciate every moment of every day now."
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Raffle Winner Gives Back And Wins Everyone dreams of winning a fabulous prize, a new home, a dream vacation or extra cash, but for Joni Curtis of Casa Grande, the decision to enter the Health & Wealth Raffle year after year really is about giving back.Joni's daughter, Angela, has epilepsy and Angelman syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes developmental disabilities and neurological problems. She is a patient at St. Joseph's and Barrow Neurological Institute. In addition, Joni's granddaughter is a patient at St. Joseph's Children's Rehabilitative Services.
Joni has seen firsthand how funds raised through the Raffle help patients like Angela and Alexis.
"I'm passionate about helping and giving back to St. Joseph's Hospital," said Joni. "My daughter and granddaughter always receive wonderful care from the doctors and staff at the hospital. I make it a priority to enter every Raffle. I never dreamed I'd end up a big winner."
But the Spring 2011 Health & Wealth Raffle proved to be lucky for Joni. She won a 2011 Turbo Hyundai Sonata plus $8,000 cash.
"I certainly didn't expected to win a prize like this. I was thrilled," said Joni. "I was speechless when I got the news. At first, I didn't believe it."
"We continually hear stories from people like Joni about the impact St. Joseph's has had on their lives," said Kathy Rice, executive director, Health & Wealth Raffle. "Participating in the Raffle really is a win-win - we're able to give away great prizes and help support the hospital at the same time."
Joni said she plans to continue entering the Raffle to help raise much-needed funding for St. Joseph's and Barrow Neurological Institute.
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Health & Wealth Raffle: An Exciting Way To Help St. Joseph's Provide Outstanding Care The Health & Wealth Raffle provides Arizonans with a unique opportunity to support St. Joseph's Hospital and Barrow Neurological Institute and in return, gives them the chance to win a prize of a lifetime. With more than 4,600 extraordinary prizes given away, the end of the Spring 2011 Health & Wealth Raffle left many Arizona residents celebrating. Kathy Rice, executive director of the Raffle, had the opportunity to speak with several top winners. She heard their excitement about winning, their future plans to use the prizes, and most importantly, their view that entering the Raffle isn't about the prizes but instead is about the great cause - St. Joseph's and Barrow Neurological Institute. "As Arizona's original Raffle, the Health & Wealth Raffle is an incredibly special project," said Rice. "There's nothing more important than keeping you and your family healthy, so it's crucial that the top-quality care provided by St. Joseph's stays in our own backyard." Since 2003, the Health & Wealth Raffle has raised more than $50 million for St. Joseph's and Barrow. Raffle dollars have helped fund more than 300 hospital projects and allow doctors and staff at St. Joseph's to provide the best patient care and stay up to date on research and treatments. Looking forward, the Fall 2011 Raffle aims to break new ground with its launch in early August. Several thousand of the best, hand-selected prizes will be given away, and local residents will once again come together to demonstrate their commitment to St. Joseph's Hospital.
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Strings Attached: Ray Thurston's $3-Million Gift To BBTRC Includes Business Guidance When Valley entrepreneur Ray Thurston decided to make a $3-million gift to the new Barrow Brain Tumor Research Center (BBTRC), the check he wrote was only part of the equation. Just as important to the fledgling center was the business expertise that Thurston brought to the table.As part of his gift, Thurston - founder of SonicAir, a logistics company he sold to UPS in 1995 - sat down with Nader Sanai, MD, director of the BBTRC, to take a close look at the research project his donation is supporting. Thurston's goal was to help Dr. Sanai enhance efficiency, cut costs and focus the project's short- and long-term objectives.
"This is certainly the most detailed and thoughtful planning process I have ever been a part of. It increases our chances of success exponentially," says Dr. Sanai. "Ray pored over our timeline and said, 'Let's run all these processes in parallel. Cost is not an issue.' As a result, we have compressed an ambitious project from five to three years and reduced its expense, too."
In addition to improving the research process, Thurston built financial incentives into his gift agreement. "My donation requires that Dr. Sanai achieve certain goals on a quarterly basis, and if he achieves those goals, I write a check," Thurston says. "I think that today's benefactor is more interested in outcomes. Those organizations that can provide outcomes are going to attract more investments."
As for Dr. Sanai, he views Thurston as much more than a benefactor. "He's been a critical partner, really a genius innovator in terms of getting things done in the laboratory, and it has completely changed the way we approach and conduct our science."
Thurston's gift is funding research that uses spectroscopy to identify cancerous brain cells so that the cells can be better targeted during treatment.
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Contribution Thanks Barrow For Amazing Care After Boating Accident In 2003, Mike DeGraffenreid and his wife, Denise, were enjoying a day on the Colorado River with friends. The sun was shining, it was hot, and Mike was anxious to cool off.Mike dove straight off the side of the boat, head first. "I thought the water was much deeper than it was," he said. But the water wasn't even three feet deep. His head crashed into the bottom.
"I hit the bottom pretty hard. But I used to play football, so I was used to getting knocked around," he said. "I thought I could just shake it off." Mike didn't want to spoil the day for his wife and friends, so he decided just to relax on a raft inside the boat. "But as time passed, I started feeling weak and nauseous. It became difficult to raise my head," he said. Denise noticed that he didn't look right. His eyes were glazed.
At around 11 p.m. Mike was loaded into a helicopter for a flight to Barrow. "I remember them saying, 'You're going to one of the best neurosurgical facilities in the world,'" he recalled.
After surgery, Mike was at Barrow for just a few days. "I only missed two weeks of work," he said. "I defied the odds really. I'm very grateful to the staff there - I can't explain how thankful I am."
Throughout the ordeal, Mike's mother, Kate Altman, was in Australia. "We came home to 17 messages on our answering machine," she said. Kate and husband John left immediately for St. Joseph's. It was their first experience with the hospital, but not their last. "All of our medical care is now at St. Joe's, and we consider them our main doctors," Kate said. "Without them, we wouldn't have our son or our granddaughter, Ava."
To thank St. Joseph's for their son's care, the Altmans began supporting the Barrow Resource for Acquired Injury to the Nervous System Program in 2010. The program provides comprehensive care to those who have suffered a traumatic brain or spinal-cord injury. "Call it coincidence, call it anything you want," Kate said. "To me, it's divine intervention. 'Thank you, God, and thank you, Barrow!' is the best way I can say it."
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St. Joseph's Among First To Offer Innovative Technology To Treat Common Heart Condition A physician at St. Joseph's, Wilber Su, MD, is the first physician in the Southwest to offer the Arctic Front(R) Cardiac CryoAblation Catheter system to treat paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF), a serious heart rhythm disorder that affects millions of Americans. Recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), this is the first and only cryoballoon in the United States used to treat this condition.Unlike traditional ablation treatments that use radiofrequency, or heat, to destroy faulty electrical circuits in the heart, the balloon-based technology of Arctic Front is novel because it ablates, or destroys, cardiac tissue through the use of a coolant rather than heat. The coolant is delivered through a catheter. This freezing technology allows the catheter to adhere to the tissue during ablation, allowing for greater catheter stability.
"The value of the new cryoablation technology over existing ablation methods is that it enables physicians to elegantly isolate the pulmonary veins via a simple, efficient approach," says Dr. Su. "The procedure is completed much faster with the cryoballon and is less risky for the patient. In my practice, most patients require only an overnight stay in the hospital, with minimal recovery time and often avoid the long term use of anti-arrhythmic drugs. This is an exciting time for those of us who have been previously challenged to cure this condition without the right tools in our toolbox."
This technology is currently only available in the Southwest at St. Joseph's and exclusively from Dr. Su. Dr. Su treats approximately 30 patients a month using this new technology and has performed more cryoballon cases than any other physician in the United States since the FDA approved the technology several months ago. Dr. Su and St. Joseph's are also proud to have been selected as a training center for other doctors who want to learn about performing this technique. St. Joseph's offers a multidisciplinary atrial fibrillation clinic.
Dr. Su was the Southwest's only Investigator in the STOP-AF (Sustained Treatment of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation) research trial, which served as the basis for FDA approval. In this study, 70 percent of patients treated with Arctic Front achieved treatment success at 12
months, compared to 7 percent of patients treated with drug therapy only. The study also demonstrated that treatment with the device is safe, and demonstrates a reduction in adverse events caused by atrial fibrillation when compared to drug therapy. Additionally, patients treated with Arctic Front displayed a significant reduction of symptoms, a decrease in the use of drug therapy and substantial improvements in both physical and mental quality-of-life factors. |
St. Joseph's Hospital Raises Awareness of Heart Attack Warning Signs St. Joseph's has launched a comprehensive campaign to increase awareness of heart disease in women.The "Make the Call. Don't Miss A Beat." campaign aims to educate, engage and empower women and their families on the seven most common symptoms of a heart attack in women.. Unfortunately, according to a recent American Heart Association survey, knowledge of the heart attack warning signs did not appreciably differ from 1997.
Half of women recognized chest pain and pain in the arm, neck and shoulders as the typical symptoms of a heart attack. Awareness was significantly lower when identifying other common heart attack symptoms, including shortness of breath (29 percent), chest tightness (17 percent), nausea (15 percent), and fatigue (7 percent).
The Office on Women's Health is partnering in the campaign and urges women to call 9-1-1 immediately if they experience any one or more of the following symptoms:
The new Make the Call initiative will include a comprehensive public service advertising campaign including TV, radio, print, and outdoor materials; campaign website, www.womenshealth.gov/heartattack; strong social and news media effort; and partner- and community-based outreach. |
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