Patient Stories

Raper visits Radvany at UAMS.

New Spinal Surgery Gets Pulaski County Man Back on His Feet

Six months after a fall left him severely injured, Dewey Raper, 65, was not healing as quickly as he thought he would. “I spent so much time in a wheelchair, a walker and on crutches,” Raper said. “Eventually, I got an MRI. Dr. Radvany viewed it and took the case over.” Martin Radvany, M.D., is…

Doctor next to patient, who is in hospital bed

Eight-Year Survivor of Two Deadly Cancers Thanks ‘Guardian Angel’

The night before his cancer surgery in April 2011, Michael McGhee asked his church family to pray for him. “I laid my cigarettes on the altar and didn’t pick them up again,” McGhee said. Eight years later, McGhee is 72 and has survived not one, but two, cancers that are often deadly: esophageal cancer and…

Linda Reins of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and her husband Robert recently learned she is in complete remission. "Dr van Rhee has given me time and hope," she said.

Myeloma Patient in Remission, Grateful for Additional Time

Linda Reins, 73, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is no stranger to cancer. In 1985, when she was 40, her local gynecologist’s office floored her with the first diagnosis. “They told me, ‘You’re pregnant and oh, you also have cervical cancer,’ said Reins, who had two teenaged sons at the time. “The next day, my husband at…

“Significant progress has been made in recent years in the field of multicentric Castleman disease,” Frits van Rhee wrote in a recent commentary in Blood, a publication by the American Society of Hematology, noting several advancements.

Commentary by UAMS’ van Rhee Featured in Blood Journal

Frits van Rhee, clinical director of the UAMS Myeloma Center, weighed in on a new combination therapy for treating newly diagnosed Castleman disease patients in the April 18 issue of Blood, a publication by the American Society of Hematology. In the commentary, “Storming the Castle with TCP,” van Rhee and coauthor Katie Stone, then-director of…

Michele Perry plays tennis at the Little Rock Athletic Club.

Weeks After Joint Replacement, Tennis Player Dominates Tournament

Michèle Perry, 57, is a talented athlete who is happiest when she is moving. From softball to swimming, Perry is not afraid to take on something new. In September 2015, she started playing tennis and discovered she was quite good. The following year, when she noticed pain in her leg while doing certain exercises, she…

Laci, Cole and Rickie Bratton sit on a porch swing at their Monticello home.

Monticello Couple Welcome Baby with Help of Fertility Specialist

When Cole Benjamin Bratton was born in January, he was screaming at the top of his lungs. That is exactly what his parents hoped he would do. Married in 2008, Laci and Rickie Bratton knew they wanted to be parents. After two years of trying and no pregnancy, they decided to see a fertility specialist….

Myeloma Center patient Gail Naimo of Port St. Lucie, Fla., (right) encouraged fellow myeloma patient Sergio Pinango and his wife Blanca Nieto (left) to seek treatment at UAMS. He did and today is in remission with no evidence of the disease.

Florida-based Friendship Transcends, Through Sickness and Health

A Facebook friendship that formed over an illness in common proved lifesaving for a Florida man who found what he needed at the UAMS Myeloma Center. Myeloma Center patient Gail Naimo of Port St. Lucie, Fla. met fellow Floridians Sergio Pinango, 56, and his wife, Blanca Nieto, 50, on a myeloma Facebook page five years…

McAlister posing for photo with family

Study May Bring Options for Children with Tourette Syndrome

Barrett McAlister hopes an ongoing clinical trial at UAMS can help establish a new treatment for Tourette syndrome in children so they can focus on being kids, playing and learning, without worrying about being “different.” “If they’ve got a chance at a normal life, I say take it,” McAlister said. “Take it with both hands.”…

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