Mail Call!

Who doesn’t like to receive mail? We are honored to hear from patients and families whose lives we’ve touched with our care. Here are some recent notes from our mailbag.

Memorial Hospital
Ms. Ferraro,
I wanted to take a moment to reach out t o you regarding our recent experience a t Memorial Hospital. My daughter Chloe Parker (now her guardian) was admitted through the emergency room because she had 17 seizures that night. Her condition was very serious. She was eventually admitted to t he 9th floor. Despite taking her to the best neurologists from Indianapolis to Chicago no physician seemed able to improve her intractable seizures. She was extremely disorientated and ataxic and her quality of life was poor.

Then Dr. Abraham Kuruvilla began his care. He took his time taking a very accurate history and ordering her medical records from other health care providers and hospitals. He truly listened and we never felt ‘rushed’. He immediately intervened and began to change her medications so they were more appropriate and targeted to her seizure type and site of origin. Dr. Kuruvilla asked me a question that no other neurologist ever asked. He wondered why with her frontal lobe site of origin seizures, if tegretol had ever been used? No other physician ever asked me that question ever. He removed medications that were not doing anything but causing unwanted side
effects and added tegretol.

Her condition dramatically improved! Chloe’s seizures became shorter in duration and less frequent. The little girl I knew began to return. She could walk and interact again (vs. sleeping all day and night). She was smiling and laughing. It has been years since she was like this.

I cannot begin to tell you how grateful we are to Dr. Kuruvilla. Memorial Hospital needs to recognize his level of care and treatment of patients is exceptional. My only wish is t hat Memorial had an outpatient clinic so that he could continue to follow her care and be her neurologist.

Sincerely grateful,

Marc Parker
Granger

Elkhart General
A “Huge Thumbs Up” for the Elkhart Clinic and Elkhart General’s Emergency Center! My high regard for the Elkhart Clinic and Elkhart General Hospital has drastically increased since my recent visits. The Clinic’s Doctor John Karagiannis was extremely professional, efficient and detailed during a July 31 colonoscopy aided by his nurse Marsha.

Early yesterday I was having pains in my right side lower stomach and called Marsha, After consulting with Dr. Karagiannis, I was told to come back immediately for more testing. Within in one hour after testing I was phoned and told to get to EGH’s Emergency Center ASAP. More testing at EGH sent me in for an emergency appendectomy since my appendix was about to burst and in fact did burst during
the operation; Doctor Van Ryn set up all the testing and Doctor Luis Benavente performed the operation.

I have nothing but high regard for all the doctors and nurses that got me through this ordeal from both places. Everything was handled professionally, efficiently and in detail yet there were a lot of smiles and I had a lot of fun with everyone I came in contact with. My feelings were that everyone cared for me and I wasn’t just another patient! 🙂
Larry Lehman