Patient Stories

Sparkle Hill

Decatur Mom Loses 100-Plus Pounds with Weight-Loss Surgery

After a full day working with senior citizens and special needs kids and adults, Sparkle Hill would come home from her job at the Decatur Park District thoroughly exhausted. Her first stop was the bedroom, where she would lie down and wait until the pain went away. She knew the culprit was her weight, an issue she had struggled with most of her life. By March 2015, she weighed 358 pounds. She was tired of being in pain. She knew something had to change.

Leroy Jordan

When Seconds Matter, One Community Leader Receives Life-Changing Care

Leroy Jordan is a man who appreciates structure. He rises at 6 a.m. each morning and almost always eats the same cereal for breakfast. After taking medication to manage his diabetes, he settles into his recliner to read the morning paper. Then, it’s a quick shower and on a good day, a visit to the gym. But Feb. 25, 2015, was different.

Nichole Jones

Runner Celebrates Loss of Nearly Half Her Body Weight

Cassie Pollard

Running Toward the Future

Cassie Pollard's weight steadily increased into her 30s. Fearing diabetes and other health complications, she underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery in 2005. She now enjoys a healthy, active life and is an accomplished runner.

Donor Spotlight: PNC

PNC Continues Strong Relationship with Memorial's Festival of Trees

Since 1989, PNC and its predecessors have sponsored Memorial’s Festival of Trees. The partnership between the two organizations remains strong today.

Donor Spotlight: Alyson Holder

Teen Holds Creative Fundraiser for Burn Center

Alyson Holder contemplates a career in healthcare and hopes to travel to Haiti someday as a missionary. But for now, the 14-year-old from Raymond will settle with helping patients cared for at the Regional Burn Center at Memorial Medical Center.

Donor Spotlight: Avery and Noah Lane

Twins Display Generosity at an Early Age

Twins Avery and Noah Lane had a unique request for their seventh birthday. Instead of presents from friends and family, they asked for donations to Memorial Medical Center's Special Care Nursery.

Donor Spotlight: Norm and Ivy Koefoed

Local Couple Give to Educate Future Nurses

The interactions she experienced with patients and their family members left a lasting impression. After her retirement in 2006, Ivy started talking about incorporating Memorial Medical Center into her estate plans.

Donor Spotlight: Ginny Conlee

Passion for Learning Inspires Giving

A friendship that developed in a college classroom in 1988 turned Ginny Conlee into a long-time supporter of Memorial Health System.

Donor Spotlight: Brian and Pam Allen

Giving Back to Support Local Healthcare

With long-time careers in healthcare, it is not a surprise that Brian and Pam Allen make it a priority to give not only money, but time to the Memorial Medical Center Foundation.