Neurology Patient Stories

When Bob and Kelly Rodenberg wed 10 years ago, they hadn't a clue how their pledge to love one another through sickness and health would play out. But when they both developed incurable illnesses, their vows took on greater significance. Today, thanks to the work of committed Mayo Clinic care teams, the pair continues to live out their promise.

For years, Keeley Allen and her family lived in fear that a seizure would strike and render the teen helpless. Unresponsive to medication, the seizures were unusual and ambiguous. Worse than the unpredictability of the seizures was the uncertainty about how to make them stop. At Mayo Clinic, however, the family's concerns about Keeley's seizures finally were put to rest.

Paralyzed from the neck down as a result of a surfing accident, Chris Barr thought life as he knew it was over. After enrolling in a regenerative medicine clinical trial at Mayo Clinic, however, he began to realize all was not lost.

Alexa Lofaro spent six months taking medications for a condition she didn't have. Once she arrived at Mayo Clinic, a multidisciplinary team specializing in her disease not only provided the right diagnosis, but also conducted the genetic testing necessary to find the right medication for her.

Before coming to Mayo Clinic, Denny Hinshaw had lived with epileptic seizures for more than 10 years, and they were eroding his personal and professional life. Since Denny came to Mayo Clinic for care, however, all that is in the past.

When Jo-Ann Rosemont learned she had a meningioma in her head, she followed her care team's advice and had regular checkups for more than a year to make sure it wasn't growing. But after one of her local doctors insisted that she get a second opinion at Mayo Clinic, Jo-Ann ended up undergoing a unique surgery that saved her eyesight.

Having already lived through the effects of one ruptured brain aneurysm, Cary Hill knew she couldn't risk it happening again when scans showed that another aneurysm had grown on her brain. So she came to Mayo Clinic for a second opinion — and a second chance.

Erin Ayub spent months in a medically induced coma as her Mayo Clinic care team worked to fight off a rare and dangerous form of encephalitis. Today, Erin has made a remarkable recovery, and now as a Mayo staff member, she's eagerly working to help further the mission of the health care organization that saved her life.

Eleven years of constant pain had left Rose Boehmer worn down and discouraged. Then she met Robert Spinner, M.D., a neurosurgeon at Mayo Clinic, who not only identified the long-hidden source of her pain, he and his surgical team eliminated it — returning Rose to a full and happy life.

Gyles Randall lived for years with pervasive pain that radiated down his legs. When he no longer could tolerate the discomfort, he sought medical help and was surprised to be referred to a neurosurgeon. But that referral made a world of difference.

When a rare disorder was identified in the Doyles' eldest son, they chose the experts at Mayo Clinic to treat and manage his condition. Two years later, when the same disorder appeared in their second child, they didn't think twice about where to take him for care.

As a newlywed couple trying to have a baby, Derin and Sandra Gebhardt were anxious and worried when they failed to conceive. But Mayo Clinic surgeons provided new hope after successfully removing a tumor near Derin's brain that was the cause of their infertility and the root of his other health problems.