All Patient Stories

When Abdullah Farid of Hamden was a bright, rambunctious toddler, he was diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolemia, a condition marked by high levels of "bad" cholesterol beginning at birth.

Diagnosed with congenital heart disease at 4-months-old, Ardelis has had several surgeries. Learn about her courage and patient care as an adult at the Heart and Vascular Center at Yale New Haven Hospital where she had surgery in 2020.

On Feb. 15, 2007, Joan Abrams, of Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, and her daughter, Robyn Shapiro, were watching an episode of "Grey's Anatomy" in which Meredith nearly drowns at the site of a ferryboat accident. Hours later, Abrams and her husband, Michael Shapiro, received a phone call from a nurse at the Yale New Haven Trauma Center...

Bill Vinovich isn't a man easily brought down. He's an NFL referee. That takes extraordinary toughness, fitness and will. It also takes great passion. So it was devastating in 2007 when Bill suffered a life-threatening heart condition.

Cole Chaivanik was only a couple of months old when he started showing symptoms of a rare childhood liver disease called Bilary Atresia. To confirm this diagnosis would require a liver biopsy. Knowing it was a rare disease, Cole's family went ahead with the biopsy. Then complications arose.

When Debbie learned at age 61 that she needed heart valve surgery, she wanted it done easily and quickly.

In August 2010, Josiah and Darien Grover welcomed their second child, Samuel, who joined his older brother Will in their family. Born on the base of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY, Sam was a healthy newborn.

Upon his two-month wellness visit, however, Sam’s pediatrician noticed that his eyes looked “off”… not quite yellow, but not white. This was a symptom of jaundice, which is caused by the liver not removing bilirubin, a yellow pigment from the blood. After the results of blood work were in, Sam was diagnosed with biliary atresia.

A professional basketball referee, Jeffrey Smith knows the value of teamwork toward wins. Off the court, he helped score a big win for a loved one after volunteering to be a kidney donor.

Since age 2, Julia had been having epileptic seizures and convulsions. Her family brought her to the Yale Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at Yale New Haven Hospital where a team of healthcare providers would care for her with treatment that included medication, as well as speech, occupational and physical therapies.

In 1994, Julian Sproule was enjoying a very successful career. A native of the U.K., Julian was working in the London office of Michael Bloomberg, future mayor of New York and founder of one of the world's most influential news organizations. Then things took a turn for the worse.

Not long ago, Kathleen Hobin's goal was to walk down the street with her dog, Rocco. That may not sound like an impressive ambition, particularly for an avid athlete and mother of three, who loved to play tennis, run and ski. But for those who know this Madison woman, it was quite an accomplishment, given the events of the past few years.

Bank teller Lafayne Drummand was 28 when she was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition. She now receives lifelong monitoring from a joint program between YNHH, Yale New Haven Children's Hospital and Yale School of Medicine.

Seventeen-year-old Lauren Cumberledge survived a devastating stroke because of several lucky factors, including a cell phone and a treatment team that she desperately needed.

On January 10, 2009, on her way home from school, Lauren developed a massive headache. She took a nap, hoping the pain would subside. But when she awoke, she was sick to her stomach.

A few weeks before Easter 2008, Lia Cirelli, a smart, happy 11-year-old from Redding, Connecticut, who rarely got tired, sick or bored, began complaining about stomach aches. One Tuesday afternoon, Laura Cirelli watched her daughter step off the school bus clutching her stomach, pushing against her upper rib cage. The next day Lia's skin turned yellow, almost orange.

All Shari Sisk, RN, asked for was a table. Mark Santoro, her patient on the Smilow Cancer Hospital Medical Oncology was unable to make it to his son Joe’s wedding. That simple request turned into a mission for staff throughout Yale New Haven Hospital, who used their special skills to bring Mark and his family together.

The way Marvin White tells it, the summer of 2003 was hot, hazy and rotten for motorcycle riding. As he recalls the events of that Sunday morning, Aug. 10, he and his friends had decided to ride their motorcycles through Northwest Connecticut.

He left his house in Hamden dressed in motorcycle gear — full-faced helmet, long pants, padded jacket and new boots. A rider for all of his adult life, White was excited to break in his new Triumph motorcycle.

But the conditions were not ideal and the drizzling rain prevailed over experience causing his bike to slide as he made a right-hand turn in Rockville. White fell off the bike, slid across the divided yellow lines and was struck by an oncoming car. With no cell phone coverage, his friends ran to the nearest house and called for help.

Matthew Esposito, 79, has been coming to the Transitional Care Center at Yale New Haven Hospital for the past two years. He receives diuretics to reduce fluid buildup caused by congestive heart failure.

Mike Funaro remembers exactly how he felt six years ago as he waited in pre-op for the surgery that would remove part of his brain....

Jennifer Humphrey, a Southington resident, was 27 and had an 18-month-old son, when she donated one of her kidneys to her father, Peter Lanza, a type 1 diabetic who had stopped traveling, avoided swimming pools because of risk of infection, and was spending eight hours each night on peritoneal dialysis. "Truly, I never gave a second thought to being the donor. I love my father," Humphrey said.

Facing liver cancer, Rob knew his best chance for survival was a liver transplant from a living donor....

Ryan Agnew was a normal 10 year-old... happy, healthy and very athletic. Then one day, his mom Connie received a call from the school informing her that Ryan was suffering from severe stomach pains.

From the moment Sanija Tigangi came into the world, things were not right. At birth, doctors told her mother, Elzana, that Sanija had a failing liver.

Sanija Tigangi and mom ElzanaOver the next several months, the Tigangis made repeat visits to the hospital as doctors performed a battery of tests and monitored Sanija's condition. Six months later, Elzana and her husband were informed that they would "need to stay in the hospital." They stayed for over a month while Sanija's condition continued to deteriorate. "We were waiting for her to die," recalls Elzana.

Within days of learning his infant son had liver failure, Stephen, a determined father, launched an extensive search for a living organ donor that extended to his family and communities of friends, church choir and clubs...

Tricia Conduah went to the doctor for what she thought was just a Urinary Tract Infection. But it turned out there was something more to it.

Tricia's creatinine levels were high. A biopsy revealed that she was suffering from glomerulonephritis - a renal disease that prevents part of the kidney from properly filtering impurities.