Success Stories

Getting hip with it

Grocery store owner Judi Hegewald is a go-getter. When a hip injury nearly robbed her of mobility, it also stole her joy and livelihood, until she visited Dr. Jon Henry, orthopedic surgeon at Aurora BayCare Medical Center.

A minor setback for a musician

“Music is like breath. It’s something that would take me away from any troubles. It made me feel like a whole person,” explai

One woman, two doctors, one medical emergency

On May 1 of 2019, Lorraine woke up with abdominal pain. Since the pain wasn’t severe, she proceeded to travel to Madison for

A mother's experiences with common childhood injuries

As a parent, there is nothing more harrowing than your child’s wails of extreme pain. Cassidee Timm has experienced this horr

One 28-year-old discovers the importance of self-breast exams

At 28 years old, Rebecca felt strong and healthy. She had no reason to be concerned about breast cancer. But when she got out

Trusting the Trial: How One Woman Has Been Breast Cancer-Free for 12 Years

When Virginia was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer, she chose to partake in TailorX, a clinical trial that used hormone therapy instead of chemotherapy. Today, thanks to the studies of TailorX, 70% of patients like Virginia don’t need chemotherapy and

Tiny valves a breath of fresh air for Manitowoc woman

Rosemary couldn’t cross a parking lot without stopping to rest. Now she’s breathing easier, thanks to a breakthrough treatment for emphysema – first made available here at Aurora BayCare.

“After a while, you give up”: How one man found headache relief after three decades

Chris lived with constant headache pain for decades. He tried pain medications and injections, but nothing seemed to help. So when Chris started to lose feeling in his hand, he knew something else was wrong.

Regenerative Medicine: Getting Back to the Field

When a leg injury threatened to keep Jean from the field, she sought relief from regenerative medicine. With some help from D

Not just a stroke, but a craniotomy, too

It was an average October day for Denise Brouillette. She was feeling a little odd, but had no reason to be alarmed. However, as the hours passed, Denise gradually began realizing she couldn’t remember how to perform mundane tasks, such as using her cellp

Living life to the fullest after an aneurysm

Twenty-nine years ago, Brenda Leboeuf’s mother suffered an aneurysm, so when Brenda suddenly began experiencing an intense pressure in her head, she knew exactly what was happening.

A close call with placenta accreta

It was the middle of the night when Jennifer Christus began bleeding midway through her pregnancy. Up to this point, Jennifer experienced no reason to worry. She had given birth to two daughters previously and had healthy pregnancies with both. Understand

The Second Opinion That Saved Her Life

She’d been losing weight for weeks, but Debra, a teacher, figured it was just her new summer job, helping tend bar at a family member’s northern resort. She was coughing a bit more too, but shrugged it off.

Dairy farmer back on the job after surgery

As a Wisconsin dairy farmer, Edward Nowak is no stranger to hard work. But hard work took on a whole new meaning when his back started hurting last fall.

Runner back on track after foot surgery

I was running the Boston just nine months after surgery. It was unbelievable. It was…wow!

Putting Her Feet in Capable Hands

Roberta Johnson was nearly immobilized by severe foot pain, until she found Dr. DeVries at Aurora BayCare. Johnson, of Gladst

Stroke Survivor Grateful for Care

Persistence is how Hope discovered her eye pain was something much more serious, a stroke. She feels fortunate that she was s

Surviving a “Widowmaker” Heart Attack

It never occurred to Joe Cravillion that he was having a heart attack. The 45-year-old long haul truck driver was home visiting his mother when his symptoms came on. He helped her move a TV into the living room and felt some pain across his chest, but he

Mary Schneider's Breast Cancer Journey

While on her annual trip to Arizona with her husband, Mary had a slight mishap while handling her luggage. She assumed the te

Breast Cancer: ‘There’s A Light’

April Stangel admits she can be one of those, “If you don’t want to know the answer, don’t ask the question” kind of people.

Advanced Stroke Treatment Saved Her Life

Her husband recognized the signs of a stroke and called 911.

Clot Retrieval Saves Retired Police Officer After Stroke

Judy Kraft will always remember that morning she put off mowing the lawn. That little delay meant she was there when her husband Frank had a stroke.

Special Delivery - One Couples Fertility Story

Ashley and Derek were college sweethearts. Married in 2010, the Blaszaks relished their DINK-lifestyle (dual income, no kids) for several years, until their friends began building families. “We were enjoying their kids,” Ashley says, so the couple decided

Back to the Heart of Life Thanks to New Aneurysm Approach

In late 2015, Pulaski resident, Tom, was diagnosed with a small aneurysm in the upper part of his aorta after seeing his primary care doctor for what he thought was merely a simple cough.

Cancer Care - You Can Take It With You

Lois Gracyalny hadn’t been in a hospital in 46 years. A big believer in preventive healthcare, she scheduled regular exams and started getting colonoscopies in her late 50s. But when a routine test revealed low iron in her blood, doctors debated whether i

Triple Bypass Changes Outlook on Life

One night in June 2016, Kief Giblin woke his wife up in the middle of the night and told her he was having a heart attack. Three days later he underwent triple bypass surgery.

Cardiac Screening Saves Farmers Life

Calcium Cardiac Screening for Heart Disease Saves Life of Farmer Vogel Bob Vogel is a hard-working farmer. He’s 55 and a diab

Walking Tall with Total Ankle Replacement

Roger Griinke suffered from ankle issues for 50 years, dating back to his days as a pole climber in the army. That’s when he

Stroke Patient Recovers On the Table Thanks to Stent Retrievers

You might not expect a 43-year-old to have a stroke. But Robert Greene can be thankful his mom knew better. She recognized the signs and didn’t let her son’s relatively young age cloud her judgement.

Weighed and Not Wanting

It’s like 364 sticks of butter. That’s how Pamela Champagne visualizes her weight loss. Pamela lost 60 pounds in her first three months after bariatric surgery, which rose to 90 pounds lost at six months. She underwent a gastric sleeve procedure with Dr.

Menominee Woman Happy with Bariatric Surgery

Christina Klaubauf had just weaned her nine-month-old son when she felt a lump in her breast. And while she suspected it was nothing more than a clogged milk duct, her husband convinced her to get it checked out.

This Nurse Chose Aurora BayCare for Cancer Care

When Barbara Heuer saw her mammogram, she knew pretty well what she was going to hear. A retired nurse, Heuer knew the black spidering in her right breast wasn’t caused by a mistake with the procedure. An ultrasound confirmed her suspicions: She had breas

Pounds Off and Miles On After Bariatric Surgery

Lori DeMars had struggled with her weight and accompanying health issues like high blood pressure, acid reflux and knee pain for years. Wanting to take action before bigger health problems developed, Lori received bariatric surgery with Dr. McKenna.

Cancer Treatments - Better Today and Better Every Day

Paula Lemke is a three-year survivor of endometrial cancer. She was first diagnosed in 2013 and then tackled a recurrence in late 2015. It’s the same cancer her mother successfully fought off some sixty years earlier.

Trust in Fast Care

Ewa Kaczmarczyk doesn’t have breast cancer. And for that, she’s grateful. But it isn’t just the good news from her doctor tha

Normal Mammogram then BAM - Cancer

Tammy Wood was dutiful about her yearly mammograms, so it was no surprise when her April exam came back normal as usual. But

Survivor Wants You to Know About Stroke

Lori Wier felt off when she woke up one morning in mid-December 2015. She remembers having a “sleepy feeling” on the left side of her body and some slurred speech. But she passed it off, figuring she just slept wrong.

Walking On Her Own After Spinal Cord Stroke

She injured herself one morning last fall, twisting at an odd angle to replace a hard-to-reach battery in a smoke detector. M

Health First Weight Second

For Sandy Linsmeyer, bariatric surgery meant a chance to get healthy. The weight loss was just a bonus. Her doctor, bariatric

Young Vet Survives Cardiac Arrest

Brian Spies has a degree in human biology and served four years as a Combat Medic with the U.S. Army, including a tour in Iraq. His wife Melody, who has known him since elementary school, describes him as “healthy, athletic, and full of life.”

Working It Off

A year ago, Denise Barnes weighed almost 250 pounds. Today, she’s 85 pounds lighter thanks to a lot of hard work and help fro

Four in Ten: New Knees and Shoulders for Manitowoc Man

Two shoulder replacements and a double knee replacement have Tony Kraemer feeling like a new man. Tony, who worked a physical

Defeating Diabetes with Bariatric Surgery

Jennifer had the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure in June of 2014 and lost more than 120 pounds in the year that followed. Now Jennifer can get down on the floor and play with her daughter, run around outside, and even, she says, share a ride at Bay Bea

39-Year-Old Stroke Survivor Wants to Create Awareness

Sgt. Matt Ronk, with the Brown County Sheriff’s Office was preparing for a SWAT training exercise when he started having signs that something wasn’t right. “Someone was talking to me, but I couldn’t process what they were saying. I walked by another perso

Hometown Doctor Does What Others Can't

Stephanie Lambert finished her first half-marathon in pain, powering through every step. Two weeks later, her hips hurt so ba

Operation Weight Loss

This August, Holly Husting will reach one of her milestone weight loss goals: She’s going to ride the zip line at the NEW Zoo

Lyric Hearing Aid Provides Comfort & Convenience

Patrick Wall started having problems with his hearing about five years ago. First, he began to have trouble understanding his

Focused on Recovery, Not the Accident that Crushed His Fingers

Derek Petska was working at a construction site when the skidsteer he was operating flipped, crushing the fingers on both his hands. He was taken by ambulance to Aurora BayCare where he met with Dr. Jagdeep Sodhi, an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in