At 73, Ron Yahne has had his share of bumps and bruises. So when a door he was working on teetered off a workbench and hit his left shin, he didn’t really give it much thought.

When 2-year-old Paige Thomas fell and broke her clavicle, her mom thought they'd have to leave Independence to find an Emergency Department that cared for children. "I decided to call Centerpoint, just in case," said Maggie Thomas, Paige's mom.

For nearly seven years, Joe Giangrosso was too tired to do much of anything despite spending 17 hours a day in bed. He was no longer able to work on a regular basis or enjoy the things he used to love. He was simply too tired. What he found out was astonishing.

Zach Zorich has learned some hard lessons over the past several years. An outstanding athlete—he lettered in varsity baseball and varsity football for the Truman Patriots—Zach has sustained multiple head injuries playing the very games he loves.

At home in Independence, 8-month-old Mia Banks now laughs and is healthy after being born prematurely and fighting for months just to survive.

Erin Clear, long QT syndrome
Following batteries of tests doctors diagnosed Erin with long QT syndrome, a rare congenital heart condition that involves an electrical disturbance of the heart’s rhythm. Erin received a combination pacemaker/defibrillator implant and was monitored in Centerpoint’s intensive care unit.

Tom Loveless is a self-professed safety nut and always dons a helmet when skateboarding, and insists his children follow suit. But Tom admits he made a poor decision on Sunday, June 28, 2009. It was a crystal-clear day and the accomplished skateboarder wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather with a quick run at Lea McKeighan Park in Lee’s Summit.  “I didn’t wear a helmet,” he says. “I crashed onto the concrete from 10 feet, the park’s highest point.”

Marcia Nagel, underwent her second total knee replacement surgery in September 2009.  Although she knew the surgery was necessary for her quality of life, the compassionate nurse also realized if she was unable to recover from the surgery, it might prematurely end her career.

Mareta Renshaw gives her first experience with Centerpoint Medical Center an A+.

Mareta, a 65 year-old Greenwood, Mo., resident had experienced acute hip and back pain for months and thought it would resolve itself.  When she began having numbness and tingling in her legs and feet her primary care physician at Lee’s Summit Family Care, Hina Syed, MD, referred Mareta to Frank Hux, DO, at Midwest Brain, Spine and Neurology Associates in Independence.

"I am now going through rehab at Centerpoint and can say that the quality of nursing did not end with the Heart Unit, but continues on into the Rehab Department. My doctors Rachel Sosland and Terry Gallion are the best in my eyes. I thank God for giving them the desire and drive to become the doctors they are." Helen Matson

Stacy Barter was having a routine check-up with her obstetrician, Robert Caffrey, MD, on Jan. 10, 2008.  Pregnant and carrying twins, Stacy wasn’t anticipating delivering her precious cargo just yet—until a non-stress test showed during the appointment that she was dilated to 5 centimeters and baby Tanner was in a breach position.  Her doctor quickly made arrangements for 33-year-old Stacy to be admitted to Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence for an unscheduled C-section.

When Bill Vandermeer shattered both of his heels after falling nearly 25 feet from a ladder, his professional hockey career should have been over. “It’s a career ending injury,” said Matt Hess, director of Sports Medicine and Wellness at Centerpoint Medical Center. “There’s not a documented case of someone returning to professional sports after such an injury.”

Gina Wallace knows that life can profoundly change in the blink of an eye, in the beat of the heart, in the moments between breaths. During the final months of 2008, Gina, a Blue Springs resident, experienced hot flashes that she describes as a tsunami of heat.

“Every six weeks I had tremendous bursts,” says Gina.  “I would jump up wherever I was and run outside to get relief.  They lasted for several minutes and then disappeared.”

James Seeley considers himself one lucky man. The 66-year-old went to Centerpoint Medical Center’s Emergency Department on March 24, 2008 with excruciating pain. He was immediately admitted for gallbladder surgery but during a routine exam prior to the procedure Joseph Evans, MD detected a heart murmur. Dr. Evans brought in cardiologist David Akin, MD to consult on James’s case.