Patient Stories
Learn more about Scripps Health through our news releases and coverage in the media. Topics include how we’re meeting regional and national health care challenges, exciting Scripps services and facilities on the horizon, and insights from our expert physicians on timely health issues.
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Cancer Screenings Helped Save Loretta’s Skin
April 30, 2012 - Patient Stories, Scripps ClinicLike many Southern California teenagers in the late 1980s, Mark Loretta enjoyed bodysurfing, playing sports and basking in the sun. “Back then, getting a sunburn was no big deal,” he said. “Just another part of summer.” Fast forward to the summer of 2004, when Loretta — then a Padres infielder — was in the midst of his most productive Big League season. He made his first All-Star Game and was e... Read More
Cancer Journey Helps Scripps Provider Raise Game
April 5, 2012 - Patient Stories, Scripps Mercy Hospital, Scripps ClinicBruce Buttermore is no stranger to cancer. As a longtime manager of radiation therapy for Scripps Health, Buttermore has helped provide compassionate care to thousands of cancer patients over the years. But in July 2010, life took an unexpected turn for Buttermore when the care provider suddenly became the care recipient. After a routine checkup, Buttermore’s blood test showed an elevated prost... Read More
Is It Your Stomach—Or Your Heart?
February 29, 2012 - Patient StoriesCalista Davis thought she had indigestion. A dynamic human resources professional who works for the San Diego County YMCA, Davis is naturally high-energy and loves travel, exploring and hiking. In early 2011, walking the hills of San Francisco with a physician friend, she found herself breathless and had to stop, telling her friend she thought she might be allergic to a drink she’d just finishe... Read More
Racing to Heart Health
February 29, 2012 - Patient StoriesAthlete Mary Rose competes in outrigger paddling, skis, kayaks and even scales the peaks of ice-covered canyons. Her heart has always been the means to achieving her active lifestyle. She never gave it more than a passing thought. Until 2009, when three separate episodes of heart palpitations sent Rose to her Scripps health care team. Diagnosed with ventricular tachycardia, an abnormal heart rh... Read More
Strides in Heart Care for Women
February 29, 2012 - Patient StoriesBonnie Miller always looked forward to her walks with her dog, Buddy—until this fall, when walking triggered a burning sensation in her lungs. That sensation, plus ongoing debilitating fatigue and nausea, sent her to Scripps. Within days of first being seen by family medicine physician Christen Benke, DO, Bonnie was in the operating room getting the heart care she needed to resume her active li... Read More
Radiation Inspires 29-Year-Old Fighting Breast Cancer
February 14, 2012 - Patient Stories, Scripps Green Hospital, Scripps ClinicLifesaving care for breast cancer Michelle Reyes was diagnosed with cancer in her right breast three years ago after she discovered a lump during a self-exam. Initially stunned by the unexpected news, Reyes, only 29 at the time, rallied quickly when her Scripps physicians explained that cancer was only a word—and that she could beat it. “From that point on, my entire world changed,” says Reyes.... Read More
Liver Transplant Gives Man a Second Chance at Life
December 22, 2011 - Patient StoriesGrowing up in Thermal, California, Richard Perez looked forward to buying a new comic book with his small allowance every time he visited the grocery store. Heroes like Batman, the X-Men, and Sub-Mariner inspired him with their strength and accomplishment – and may have influenced his choice to become what many would consider a modern day hero. After serving in the U.S. Marines, where he saw he... Read More
Strength and Determination Help Padres First Base Coach Beat Cancer
August 15, 2011 - Patient StoriesPadres first base coach Dave Roberts is famous for sparking one of the most dramatic rallies in Major League Baseball history. His ninth-inning stolen base in the 2004 playoffs helped the Boston Red Sox stave off elimination and propelled the team to eight straight wins, culminating in its first World Series championship in 86 years. Yet Roberts says he has achieved his biggest comeback away fr... Read More
A Local Teen's Death Results in a Program Designed to Save Lives
July 14, 2011 - Patient Stories, Scripps Green HospitalRhina and Hector Paredes have turned the tragic loss of their teenage son into an opportunity to put better health safeguards in place for other local children. Rhina Paredes, a registered nurse at Scripps Health, had no idea her athletic 15-year-old son Eric had a heart condition until he unexpectedly passed away from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in July 2009. People who are at high risk for SC... Read More
Scripps Returns Teacher to Head of Class
June 27, 2011 - Patient Stories, Scripps Memorial Hospital EncinitasImagine suffering a head injury so severe, you couldn’t find your way to familiar places or follow a simple recipe. Then imagine being told by doctors that your injury had healed and you were fine. This was reality for Ticia Bracher, a 46-year-old special education teacher from La Mesa, Calif. In May 2006 she fell and hit her head after tripping over a cord in her classroom. Bracher immediately... Read More