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 |  My name is Thomas Newton. I’m a semi-retired insurance agent in North Branch, married, with two adult children and eight grandchildren. I like to say I’m a farmer “by marriage.” Growing up I never lived on a farm, but I married a farmer. My wife Joanna is a retired teacher. We own 73 acres west of North Branch where we raise alfalfa and Herefords. We always grow more hay than we need---that’s actually where I ended up injuring my shoulder.I was throwing hay bales three years ago when the first shoulder, the left one, started to feel sore, and then it got worse, so I went to see Dr. Jeff Ley, an orthopedic surgeon at Fairview Lakes Medical Center. He determined it was a rotator cuff injury caused by a bone spur. I had surgery on it in 2009, and it went very well. Afterward, I saw Nick, the therapist at the Fairview Lakes Physical Therapy Clinic in North Branch. Fairview Lakes also offers physical therapy at Wyoming, and several other locations. It was nice to be able to go to physical therapy close to home, and Nick was excellent. He was very aware of exactly what needed to be done and advanced me at just the right time. He didn’t push too hard, but he didn’t let me slack off either. He’s very perceptive. In no time I was back throwing bales again. Then the right shoulder started to bother me. It was pretty much the same thing only I was in a lot more pain this time because there was some damage to the shoulder joint in addition to the rotator cuff. It’s hard to tell what caused the injury—maybe just getting older--but throwing the hay bales made it worse. I went back to Dr. Ley and had surgery on the right shoulder done on Nov. 29, 2011. I was only in the hospital a couple of days, but due to the more extensive surgery I had to keep my arm in a sling for two weeks before starting therapy. Unfortunately, due to an unrelated problem, a short time later an artery in my left leg collapsed. The resulting surgeries kept me from starting physical therapy on my shoulder. When I was able to go back to see Dr. Ley, I was glad when he said he was going to send me back to see Nick at Fairview Lakes Physical Therapy in North Branch. I started seeing Nick for therapy the first week in January. When I got done with therapy, Nick even showed me how I could continue exercising at home. It’s going very well. I’m throwing hay bales again but I’m careful not to reinjure my shoulder. Nick said it’ll be fine as long as I don’t lift them more than chest high. If you’re in pain and need orthopedic surgery done, I’d highly recommend the surgeons and therapists at Fairview Lakes Medical Center. |  As my due date approached for the birth of my third child, my doctor scheduled an induction. We arrived and were admitted to The Birthplace at Fairview Northland Medical Center on a Tuesday morning about 8 a.m. As my nurse evaluated my condition and connected me to the various monitors, she asked if I was feeling any pain. I told her no, and asked her why. She told me I was having contractions on my own! Within a short amount of time, I started feeling the contractions, which were about 2½ minutes apart. Two hours later when the nurse checked me, I had not made any progress, so she started me on medication to help move the labor along. Hours went by with no change. I spent a lot of time walking in the hallway and anxiously waiting for something to happen, with no luck. My doctor, Peter Jensen, checked me again at 8 a.m. the next morning and I had finally made a little bit of progress, going from two to three centimeters dilated. To keep my labor progressing, Dr. Jensen broke my water—from there, everything got much more painful. Two hours later, I was holding my daughter in my arms. I only had to push once and little Madison was here – 7 pounds, 11 ounces of perfection. My doctor put me at ease and all of the nurses were very caring, always taking time to answer my questions. I was able to get to know the nurses, which is important to me – I want to know who’s caring for me and my baby. My nurses even took great care of my sister when she visited with her infant. I had a great experience at The Birthplace with the delivery of each of my children, and I’ll always have great memories of their births. |  I experienced two warning signs that indicated something could be wrong with my heart. First, in early May, I had spine surgery, and within a day or two of going home, I started sweating and just didn’t feel right. I was worried I was having a heart attack so my wife took me to the emergency room at Fairview Northland Medical Center. My blood work and EKG came back just fine so I went home. Three weeks later, after a night at the race track, I just didn’t feel good—again. At first I thought maybe it was indigestion or heart burn, but I started sweating and then felt a pain in my left shoulder. I took a Nitroglycerin tablet, and my symptoms went away; however, they returned a little while later—so I took another Nitroglycerin tablet, and the symptoms went away again. I felt better and went to bed, but woke up around 4 a.m. with the same symptoms. I took a third Nitroglycerin tablet, which made me feel better yet again, but I was worried. My family history includes several loved ones dying from a heart attack or heart disease. I called the emergency room at Fairview Northland, and they recommended I come in to be checked out—I’m so glad that I did. My emergency room doctor ran me through all kinds of tests, but once again, my results came back fine. And I felt fine—but he wasn’t comfortable with sending me home. After consulting with a cardiologist at Fairview Southdale Hospital, he decided I should be transferred there to get an angiogram so they could get a better look at my arteries. I was floored by the results—my cardiologist, James Erdahl, MD, told me I had five blocked arteries. I didn’t think it would be anywhere that bad. I had some blockage in 1995, but I had gone 17 years without any problems. I work out four times a week and lead a very active life. Even my doctors were amazed that I could function so well with that much blockage. I had no idea! Dr. Erdahl recommended open heart bypass surgery. He repaired four arteries that were more than 95 percent blocked on May 20. A couple of days later, I was able to go back home to Princeton. I’m currently in cardiac rehab a few times a week at Fairview Northland Medical Center to rebuild my strength and endurance. I also see my cardiologist there for follow-ups. It’s been three months since my surgery, and I’m feeling great! I’ve had to cut back on hours at my business, but still enjoy working, traveling to races, and spending time with my wife of 38 years, our daughter and two grandchildren. |  |
 |  My name is Chris Morgan, and I’m a 43-year-old father of three from Farmington. I work full-time and am also the swim coach at Eagan High School. My wife, Amy, also works full-time and is the school’s diving coach—so our schedules between the two of us can be hectic to say the least! After the last swim season ended in the spring, we held an awards banquet for the kids and their parents. As soon as I was handed the microphone to talk about each swimmer and present the awards, I was hit with what felt like a busload of tingles throughout my body and also experienced intense pain in my chest. While I felt terrible, I kept going for another three hours because I didn’t want to let down my team. When the banquet was over, Amy and I headed home. I let her drive, which is how she knew I was in a lot of pain. Thinking I might be having a heart attack, she drove me to the emergency room at Fairview Ridges Hospital in Burnsville. Coincidentally, one of the moms from the banquet, Molly Mattson, was just starting her shift as a nurse and saw me come in. The doctor put me through a series of tests and realized I was suffering from a rare aortic dissection—essentially, my aorta was ripping apart from my chest down to my leg (a full 28 inches). As you can imagine, most people don’t live very long when that happens. Knowing that time was of the essence, the doctors had me flown by helicopter to University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, in Minneapolis. The transport only took eight minutes, and when I got there, I was rushed into surgery that saved my life. Thank goodness the doctors at both Fairview hospitals were educated about my condition and did what needed to be done. I felt very well provided for—and that means a lot. |  My name is Christopher Fellows. I’m 26 years old, married, and live in Princeton, Minn., where I work as the service center manager in an automotive repair shop.I had a really bad snoring problem, and I never felt rested. Both my mom and dad were snorers, so I never thought much about it. I was snoring loud enough to wake myself up at night, and I was waking my wife up, too. I was only sleeping two or three hours a night. In the morning I was so tired that the entire day was a struggle. My family physician, Dr. Jeremy Peterson at Fairview Clinics – Princeton, referred me for a sleep study at the Fairview Sleep Center located at Fairview Northland Medical Center. At first I was extremely nervous to go sleep in a strange place. I actually got sick to my stomach worrying about it. I made it all the way to the hospital once, and then chickened out. I just went home. I never even got out of the car. But my sleep problems kept getting worse, and Dr. Peterson encouraged me to reconsider having the sleep study done so we rescheduled it. This time I went through with it. I was expecting to be very uncomfortable, but it turned out to be an easy thing for me to do. The sleep technician gave me all of the information I would ever need. He told me exactly what would happen, and what they were looking for. He eased me into it. I knew exactly what was going to happen, and I almost slept better than I normally do. I stopped breathing several times during my sleep study. When I came back a day or two later, they set me up with a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine that keeps my airway open while I sleep. I swear by that now. Using the CPAP, I sleep seven to eight hours a night. I’m using the CPAP four to five times a week, and my wife loves it. Now she’s sleeping better, too. I also had a followup appointment scheduled with Oleg Froymavich, MD, who is a sleep specialist and otolaryngologist. I work in a customer-oriented job. Now that I’m sleeping better, I’m in a better mood, and I like my job more because I’m not as cranky. I would tell anybody with a sleep problem, do it – see a doctor, go to a Fairview Sleep Center and have a sleep study done if they recommend it. The doctors and everyone at the sleep center will help you sleep better. |
 My name is Chris Leaf. I’m 42 years old, and live in Minneapolis with my wife, Cristy, and our two pets, a cat and a dog. I’ve always been a very active person—despite a busy work schedule, I continue to play many sports, including biking, running, skiing and hockey.I first noticed something was amiss with my health a year ago as I was getting ready to start a bike race. Urinating was difficult, but since this can happen with athletes, I blew it off and continued with my race. The problem went away. Two months later while playing boot hockey with some friends, I noticed that my legs didn’t feel right. They became sore and sluggish, and my coordination wasn’t very good. But I continued to play through it. The next week, I experienced difficulty urinating again. In great pain by evening, I drove to the Fairview Southdale Emergency Room to be catherized. At checkout, the doctor told me to schedule an appointment with an urologist. Because it was the week of Thanksgiving, and I didn’t have any more issues, I postponed doing so until the following week. In the meantime, I went pheasant hunting that weekend and started having issues with my legs again—I felt like I couldn’t walk right and kept tripping in the tall grass. My coordination was off, and I developed horrible pain in my lower back. I was so uncomfortable that I slept downstairs all weekend so I wouldn’t disturb my wife. A few days later, it happened again—I couldn’t urinate. I returned to the emergency room at Fairview Southdale Hospital, and explained that I also was having lower back pain and coordination issues. The doctors decided to admit me to the hospital overnight for observation. The next day, my legs became numb; I lost feeling in my feet and became paralyzed from the waist down. The doctors began testing me for possible conditions ranging from Lyme disease to Guillian-Barre syndrome to multiple sclerosis. They talked to me about several different potential diagnoses, most of which were difficult to grasp—some entailed permanent paralysis and some were even terminal. That night was definitely my darkest hour. I felt the need to make peace with the world as my situation seemed so bleak. The doctors scheduled a spinal tap the next day to check for meningitis and a list of other diseases. I was scared, but my wife comforted me. My nurse explained the spinal tap procedure and gave me the support I needed throughout the long hours that night. The following morning, several more tests were performed. I recall the radiologist talking about a conference he’d recently attended in California about Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM). He thought I was exhibiting classic symptoms of it, and sure enough, by that afternoon, I was diagnosed with an AVM in my spine. AVM is a very serious and rare neurological condition that occurs when there’s an abnormal connection between the arteries and veins. Typically, a person is born with this condition, but then doesn’t manifest until an accident or injury triggers the problem—I had had neither. Within an hour, I was wheeled away for a specialized angiogram. The doctors hoped that during the angiogram, they’d be able to sever the vein that was incorrectly attached to the artery. Unfortunately, however, the AVM was too severe. A team of neurosurgeons was called in from the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, to help with my case. They explained to me and my family the extensiveness of the four to six hour surgery that entailed disconnecting the artery and veins in the upper part of my spine, which might require removing spinal discs and putting in a rod. Thankfully, they were able to complete the surgery in about three hours, making only minimal cuts into my spinal discs to get at the vessels. When I awoke from my surgery in the Intensive Care Unit, I had some feeling in my feet. Within a few hours, I could wiggle my toes and move my feet. The next day, I was able to stand and then walk around with a walker. I continued to progress over the next few days, much more quickly than doctors had anticipated—they were amazed, in fact! I went from, “I’m not going to be able to walk out of this place” to “I can almost jog home if I wanted to.” I still have some nerve damage, but am hopeful that it’ll all go away some day. Most importantly though, I’ve been able to participate again in all of the activities I love. The staff at Fairview Southdale Hospital was so caring and supportive—they have the right relationships with the staff at University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, and will do whatever it takes to help patients. They brought in all the resources I needed to receive the best treatment and care—I’m so grateful. |  My name is Joyce Trembley. My husband and I live in St. Paul, but since we’re retired, we spend most of our summer at a campground on a lake near Marine on St. Croix (east of Forest Lake). That’s where we were one Saturday in June when I began to notice some pain and swelling in my arm. I didn’t think too much of it at first, but then it didn’t go away, and the pain in my arm kept getting worse. I was afraid that I was having a heart attack. Since it was late in the afternoon, we decided we should go to the emergency room at Fairview Lakes Medical Center. We arrived around 6 p.m., and I was immediately put into a wheelchair and whisked away to a room. The staff was awesome—in a matter of seconds, they had an IV in my hand and an EKG (electrocardiogram) started. I’ve never seen a team so in control. I believe they’ve got the perfect team! They were clearly experienced and so on top of everything. Cindy Reese, the ER nurse, took care of me—and I mean care. She was outstanding, taking total control, as well as keeping me comfortable and informed about everything that was going on. My EKG results were normal, and the doctor reassured me that I wasn’t having a heart attack. He recommended a follow-up appointment with my primary doctor to further examine the pain in my arm. My husband and I were both relieved. I was so impressed with my care that after my ER visit, I wrote a note thanking the entire ER staff. I told them, “My husband is a disabled veteran, and we frequently stay at an RV camp in the area. It’s good to know that an emergency team of this caliber is close by.” Illness can strike suddenly, and when it does, it’s good to know that expert help is always close by, 24/7 every day. |  This past December I got sick. It started with a cold that lingered—after about a week, I went to my doctor at Fairview Clinics – Zimmerman. He checked me out, and my lungs sounded fine. That was on a Wednesday. My health went downhill fast from there. By Friday, I was the sickest I’ve ever been in my life. I was weak and could hardly walk—I didn’t even have the energy to answer my ringing phone. One of my friends got worried and basically forced herself into my house. When she saw me, she told me I had two choices: either she’d take me to the hospital, or she’d call 911. I wanted to wait for my husband to come home, but my friend was more stubborn than I. My friend drove me to the emergency room at Fairview Northland Medical Center. The doctors quickly diagnosed me not only with pneumonia, but also septic shock, which was causing my kidneys to shut down. My heart rate was so high that they were worried I may have a heart attack. It was quite scary. I’m incredibly lucky that my friend took me the hospital when she did— my doctor told me I could’ve died if I had waited much longer to seek care. I spent the next three days in intensive care. While a doctor there took care of me, I also used the video camera and monitor to Skype with the critical care doctors at University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview. It was pretty cool to know that doctors who specialize in really sick patients were monitoring my health while I was in the ICU and working with my doctor at Fairview Northland Medical Center. To receive such high level, state-of-the-art care close to home was wonderful. Fortunately, I responded well to my treatments and only spent another three days in the hospital. It was right before Christmas, and I was determined to host my family’s celebration. I was still weak and needed an oxygen tank at first, but I didn’t let that stop me from cooking our holiday meal. With the help of my husband and 80 feet of tubing for the oxygen tank, we had a great holiday! My stay at Fairview Northland Medical Center was excellent—partly due to my nurses Andrea and Jason. I couldn’t have asked for better care. |  |  My name is Beverly Keeley, I am 55 years old and I live in Lakeville, Minnesota. I work full time and live with my husband of 22 years and twins who are 13 (boy/girl). We keep very busy with my family running our son and daughter to school and sporting events. I scheduled my routine mammogram in August, 2011 at the Fairview Breast Center in Burnsville. It turns out there was nothing routine about it! I received a call after the mammogram to come in for an ultrasound because the radiologist noted something different from last year. This really didn’t concern me because last year I had a fluid filled cyst and there is no history of breast cancer in my family. So I procrastinated but finally made my appointment. After the ultrasound, I remember the doctor saying “I am sorry, is there someone at home you can talk to?… I said yes, my husband, it is our 22nd wedding anniversary today”. I broke into tears, I was so scared. The next day I was scheduled for two biopsies. One on the right for the mass and one on the left for calcifications. What a day that was. I have never been through anything like it, I felt my body was in a construction zone. I also had an MRI. The results were left breast ok, right breast--invasive ductal carcinoma. Tanya, who is the coordinator at the Breast Center, set up the appointment for me and we met the surgeon the next day. Although I was in a fog, Tanya was very informative and supportive and I felt she was there for me. When we met the surgeon and I heard CANCER, the words were just going over my head and I felt like I wasn’t hearing what the doctor was saying. We elected to have the lumpectomy. Unfortunately, I had to go in for a second surgery because the margins were not clear. These appointments were made for me at the time of my visit with the surgeon and I did not have to make any calls or worry about making appointments. Appointments were also set up for me to meet the radiation doctor and the oncologist. With my surgeries over, I went back to work and tried to keep my routine. I had six weeks of radiation at the Fairview Ridges Radiation Department. The folks there made every effort to accommodate me and I was able to have my radiation over my lunch hour so I didn’t have to miss any work. I feel that the team at Fairview helped me get through this tough time. It seemed to flow from one thing to the next and it took the worry and stress from me making the appointments much easier. It has been a tough seven months but my mantra is “I can do this” and so far it is working with the help of my faith, family and friends. Early detection was the key for me and we need to communicate how important that is and together we are making us better! |
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 |  |  December 1 2011, my life changed when I was diagnosed with colon cancer. But my story's starts two weeks earlier when I met with Dr. Katz my internal medicine doctor for over 20 years. I owe my life to Dr. Katz as he quickly ordered test to confirm his diagnosis. Once confirmed, Dr. Katz helped me understand what was going to happen next with a very compassionate approach. He may tell corny jokes, but I could not ask for a better doctor. Thank you, Dr Katz! | ||
 | My daughter was seen in a Fairview clinic by Dr. Danielle Bennett. Dr. Bennett was amazing and went above and beyond the call of duty to help figure out what was wrong with my daughter. She spent a lot of time with us and researched my daughter's symptoms to help figure out what she had. She even called us on the weekend to check on my daughter's status. She stayed in close contact with us and always made us feel like we were her number one priority. My daughter was eventually admitted to the hospital, and even after her admission Dr. Bennett was still calling and checking in on her. We were amazed to have received this kind of care and we are grateful to have Dr. Bennett as our daughters pediatrician. Dr. Bennett's nurse Brenda was also amazing. She made us feel very welcome and put our worries at ease. We felt that she really knew how to deal with children and she made a very scary situation less scary by being so nice and caring. The care we received by Brenda and Dr. Bennett was over the top wonderful! |  |
 My name is Rob Gullickson, but some folks call me “Red.” I live in Rush City, and work as a dispatcher for a concrete cutting and demolition company in the Twin Cities. When I’m not working, I like to ride my motorcycle—pretty much every piece of clothing I own says Harley Davidson on it.I’m 53 years old, and I never dreamed I’d have a heart attack. I was home alone when a powerful pain spread across my chest. I guess I was the classic example of macho denial. I kept telling myself that it was really a bad case of heartburn, and it’d get better if I could just burp. When the pain didn’t go away, I talked to my fiancée on her cell phone—she’s a 9-1-1 dispatcher and former paramedic. She was on the road in her vehicle, but immediately asked where my pain was and if my arms were numb. When she arrived a few minutes later, my arms were numb, and the pain was getting worse. She convinced me to go to the Emergency Department at Fairview Lakes Medical Center. As soon as we arrived at Fairview Lakes, the emergency department team went into 9-1-1 mode. They moved quickly, but were always in touch with my needs and feelings. After examining me, they told me I needed to be transferred to University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, to have a stent put in. Telling me I was going to the “U” calmed me —everyone, in fact, was very calm and collected. The next thing I remember was recovering in the intensive care unit (ICU) with a stent in my blocked coronary artery. The nurses in the ICU were wonderful—very attentive and polite. They barely left my room. Two-and-a-half days later, I was at home in Rush City. But my life had changed. I’ll admit it—I loved my beer and pretzels, but my cardiologist, Robert Wilson, MD, from University of Minnesota Physician Heart at Fairview, convinced me that staying healthy meant changing my lifestyle. I started going to cardiac rehabilitation at the Fairview clinic in Rush City and then at Fairview Lakes Medical Center. I finished the full 32 sessions of cardiac rehab, which helped me learn how to maintain a heart-healthy diet and how important it is to exercise.. Three weeks after my heart attack, I went back to work. I felt discouraged when I started to experience some mild pain again, but luckily, it turned out to be stress-related. I never realized before how much stress can affect your health. Within two weeks, I went back to cardiac rehab in full swing again. When the cardio machine and treadmill got boring, I decided to start running. I’ve never been a runner before—now I get up at 3:30 a.m., without fail, so that I can run two miles before I drive to work. That isn’t the only change I’ve made. Last summer, on a camping trip with friends, I offered to cook for everybody. We all ate heart-healthy food, and I got my cardio exercise in every morning. I haven’t been this fit since I was a teenager—I’ve lost 40 pounds! I have nothing but good things to say about the doctors, nurses and especially the cardiac rehab staff at Fairview Lakes—Nikki, Lynne and Angie. I give them a lot of credit for the progress I’ve made. They kept me going with their positive encouragement. They made sure I was working hard enough, but always in a positive environment with lots of laughter. I drive past Fairview Lakes Medical Center every day, and there isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t think of the staff in cardiac rehab. No thank-you card could say enough for all they’ve done. The Fairview Lakes Emergency Department staff, Dr. Wilson and the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, surgery team saved my life, and the Fairview Lakes cardiac rehab staff have helped me change it. |  My name is Vicki Greene and I live in North Branch with my husband and two sons, ages 6 and 2. Iwork full-time as a human resources director, and have recently become a “single mom” while my husband serves a six-month stint in the Army Reserve.I’m only 31, but I’ve had varicose veins in my left leg since I was a teenager. As a kid, I never wore shorts---I lived in jeans no matter how hot it was, and if I wore skirts they had to be calf-length . As I got older, the veins kept getting worse. When people would see my leg, they would point and say, “What’sthat?” I was embarrassed to wear a swimsuit,go to the beach, or just be out in public with my leg showing But I put up with it because I’d always heard that the only way you could fix varicose veins was through cosmetic surgery. I finally decided to do something about the problem last spring, about the time my sister-in-law was getting married. I’dnever been in a wedding before, and I was going to be a bridesmaid wearing a knee-length dress. Several weeks before the wedding, I called the surgery clinic at Fairview Lakes Medical Center. They told me I could have my veins done immediately using conventional vein-stripping surgery or, if I could wait a month, I could have them done using a procedure that was less invasive and wouldn’t leave scars. The surgeon, Lan Raikar, would be available in July. I decided to wait. When I had my ultrasound, Dr. Raikar explained that varicose veins are really more of a disease than a cosmetic problem. Because of blood flow issues, the affectedveins actually start to shut down. Then she told me how simple the surgery would be. My surgery was on July 19. At first, I was hesitant, because my birthday is July 22 and I didn’t want to be sick on my birthday. Happily, I needn’t have worried. I went into surgery at Fairview Lakes Medical Center in the morning, had the surgery and was out by the afternoon. The staff instructed me to wear TED (compression) socks for two weeks, and gave me some pain medicine to take home. The first day, I took a little bit of the medication as a precautionary measure, but really didn’t need to. The leg just felt a little tight---...really no pain at all. On my birthday, I went out to eat at a restaurant and off to anoutlet mall for some shopping. I still had the bandages on, but I couldn’t wait---I bought five pairs of shorts and some skirts, and I wore them all summer! Until I had the surgery, I never realized how much the veins had affected my energy and activity levels. I was a dancer growing up, and had always wanted to be a runner, but the older I got, the more tired my leg would get. My feet felt soheavy, it was difficult to run. Before my surgery, I had registered for an event called “The Warrior Dash;” I wanted to do the race in honor of my husband. I had been trying to train, but even after months of running ,I could only go for a couple of miles; my feet just felt too heavy. A week and a half after my surgery, with Dr. Raikar’s permission, I was back running while wearing my Ted sock. By Sept. 8, I was able to do the Warrior Dash. It’s a grueling 5K that involves running up and down hills, going through barbed wire, running through trenches and jumping over fire. I finished 330th out of 1500 women in my age group and still had energy left to spare when the race was over! It was a huge accomplishment. It was something I always wanted to do, but never thought I could. If I hadn’t had the surgery, I don’t think I could have done it. When I went to visit my husband in August, he said that even just seeing me walking up to him, he could tell how much better I felt about myself. I’ve got more energy. My leg looks great and feels great. The surgery was painless, and the incisions were like tiny scratches that have virtually disappeared. I would recommend Dr. Raikar, Fairview Lakes Medical Center and this varicose vein surgery to anyone. |  Last year, I was busy keeping up with everyday life that comes with being a mom of three kids. Then I noticed a lump in her breast and went to see Dr. Rita Wolfe at Fairview Clinic Lakeville. After my exam showed something wasn’t right, I was sent to the Fairview Ridges Breast Center for a mammogram and ultrasound. Unfortunately, I soon learned I had breast cancer.Since that time, I’ve had a double mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation treatments, all on the Fairview campus in Burnsville. I appreciate the convenience of having all of my appointments near my home for “one-stop shopping.” I can’t say enough about the presence and support of my Breast Care Navigator – Tonya Larson. Tonya has truly been there every step of the way for me, and that means a lot. Her positive attitude has been fantastic and she has been in my corner the whole time. My dad has been really impressed with the care I’ve received at Fairview too. He likes the way they have catered to my personal needs and stayed with me during my journey. Now that it’s been a year since my diagnosis, I’m optimistic about my recovery and appreciate the way Fairview lets me schedule treatment so I can spend precious quality time with my family. I’m going through this so I can be there for my kids’ birthdays. | ||
Karoline Buck
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Jessica Sindt
Joined March 21, 2012
Joined March 21, 2012
Don Moran
Joined April 4, 2012
Joined April 4, 2012
Katie Holley Carlson
Joined March 19, 2012
Joined March 19, 2012
Erica Richardson
Joined April 17, 2012
Joined April 17, 2012
Cybele Johnson
Joined March 19, 2012
Joined March 19, 2012
Rob
Joined October 26, 2012
Joined October 26, 2012
Vicki
Joined October 26, 2012
Joined October 26, 2012
Becki
Joined October 30, 2012
Joined October 30, 2012
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