Acquanetta L. Frazier

Gastroenterology-Internal Medicine

December 2001-June 2002

Dr. Frazier cared for me when my chronic Hepatitis B became reactivated making the numbers soar up from one day to the next. This happened a couple months after I returned from my honeymoon in Vermont. I was a newlywed and had so much to look forward to when I had to face the disease

Dr. Helena Rodbard

Endocrinology

ongoing

Rockville, Maryland

I would like to share the story of a physician I have known for many years. Dr. Helena Rodbard is in private practice in Rockville, Maryland. She received her medical degree in Sao Paolo, Brazil and came to NIH for postdoctoral research training. Following her research training she completed her residency at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC. I was searching for a new endocrinologist and she was recommended by a family member who had worked with her and by my boss at that time at NIH who knew her. I liked Dr. Rodbard the minute I met her. She was friendly, kind, caring and quickly caught on to my humor. Dr. Rodbard has volunteered in diabetes education working with non-profits such as the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and Diabetics Educating and Empowering Diabetics (DEED). She was one of the founding officers for the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) and is a Fellow in the American College of Endocrinology (ACE.) In today's busy medical practices, patients have to be seen quickly. We are all concerned about insurance coverage and out-of-pocket medical expenses. But one important key is to have a physician who will work with you so that you stay healthy and understand the choices you make. Scare tactics in diabetes are not motivating factors for most people. Having a doctor who is understands her patient, works with them, and keeps them as healthy as possible is the important goal. Dr. Rodbard keeps her patients out of the hospital and that reduces insurance costs. Not only is Dr. Rodbard a physician, active in her profession and community, but she is also a wife and mother. I think women physicians bring a special aspect to medical care that is very helpful. I think if more physicians treated their patients as Dr. Rodbard does, perhaps it would reduce the complications of diabetes.

Urribarri

ob / gyn

lake city

I couldn't stop crying and didn't know what was happening to me, after several months of misdiagnosis Dr Urribarri saw me and when I could not stop crying she said "honey this is not menopause. She sent me to a psy facility that was able to diagnose panic attacks and anxiety disorder and treat me with the meds that I had been needing for several months and I felt that Dr Urribarri as a woman and a md made the personal connection that a patient needs. Every time I see her I feel the impulse to give her a big hug. Thanks to her for her correct observation and diagnosis.

Dr. Ethel Walker

pediatrics?

1955?

Nashville, Tennessee

When I was nine Dr. Walker was my doctor in Nashville, Tennessee. Her office was near Centennial Park. I became very ill one day after going to the movies. At first my parents thought I had just eaten too much popcorn, but when I began to double over in pain, they realized it was more than that. Late that night Dr. Walker saw me in her office and I was transferred to the hospital and assigned a surgeon. He did an appendectomy. My mother said the appendix was so bad that it had almost burst. I am so thankful for this woman doctor's expertise. It may have saved my life!

Dr. Martha Souter

Pediatrics

1957-1972

Indianapolis

Dr. Souter was my pediatrician and the pediatrician to both of my sons. She was an amazing woman. It is my understanding that she was one of the first women to graduate from Cornell University School of Medicine. Dr. Souter was a no nonsense sort of woman and doctor. As a child I was very in awe of her, yet I always felt safe in her office. I can remember her cool hands touching me when I was feverish and I remember her stern looks at my mother. My mother had made it very clear to me that if I cried or misbehaved at the Doctor's office I would be severely punished. "Given something to cry about" I believe was the term I heard each time I went there. I was never allowed to cry, not even when I received injections. I am very sure that Dr. Souter understood the extreme fear I had of my mother and the power she held over me, therefore she was always very gentle and kind to me. When she looked at me I felt she was looking into my very soul. At the tender age of 16, I found myself pregnant. I was very alone, and very scared, but I knew that keeping my baby was the most important thing in the world to me. My parents disowned me. I married my baby's father and we tried to make a home for our yet to be born baby. The joy I felt at holding my newborn son was so overwhelming. I made a promise that I would be the kind of mother that would never harm or hurt her child, and I made a promise that my child/children would have the best care that I could afford. Dr. Souter's name was placed on the records as my new baby's pediatrician. I didn't know how we would be able to pay for her services. I had stopped going to Dr. Souter when I found out I was pregnant; I was too embarrassed to face her, but I knew that I wanted her to be my new son's pediatrician. I will never forget seeing her radiant face peeking around the corner and saying to me "I thought this had to be you, what a beautiful baby boy you have given birth to!" I didn't have my mother's arms holding me and telling me what a beautiful, healthy boy I had. But I had something better. Dr. Souter came to my bedside and hugged me and told me to be strong. Dr. Souter remained my sons' pediatrician until they reached puberty. During the time that she took care of my little family, she taught me to trust my own instincts. She let me know that I was a good mother and that she was proud of how my children were progressing and growing. She told me she had faith in me. She closed down her practice and retired shortly after we left her care, passing away a few years later. She was the very first professional woman I had ever met. She made me realize that hard work and dedication would lead to success and being a woman should never stand in one's way. I finished high school and later went on to college. My son's are grown now, my oldest son is in neonatal research and married to a wonderful, caring pediatrician and my youngest son is a successful industrial sales representative. They grew up strong and healthy under Dr. Martha Souter's care. So did I. I went on to become a successful commercial interior designer, working for one of the most prestigious architecture firms in the world. She gave me the courage to be a strong and loving woman and to put fear behind me. I will never forget Dr. Souter and I will love her always.

Sunny Richley, M.D.

Internal Medicine

2002

San Diego, California

Dr. Sunny Richley was a Chief Resident in Internal Medicine at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego when my husband was hospitalized there for five months. We live in the midwest and my husband had been taken to that hospital when he became seriously ill while returning across the Pacific Ocean with his son (a Marine helicopter pilot who had been deployed to Afghanistan). My husband was one of dozens of Sunny's patients, and she soon rotated off his case to another assignment. Many weeks later, upon learning of the gravity of his condition, she volunteered to reassume responsibility for his care even though she had more than her share of patients. Sunny re-energized the teams of doctors and nurses, some of whom had decided my husband's case was hopeless. She left no idea or area unexplored but expertly coordinated the medical teams. She monitored his care with tenacity and empathy even after weeks of a coma and a multitude of serious infections. Sunny inspired me to take care of "me," also, so I would have the strength to go on no matter what happened in my husband's life. After 149 days of hospitalization, he was discharged and we were able to return home. Months of rehabilitation followed but he now has a quality of life allowing him to enjoy his first grandchild, born during his hospitalization. Without Sunny's care and devotion, I have no doubt that my husband would not have survived. Her reputation with the hospital staff was excellent, and she truly demonstrated to all the qualities of a wonderful physician.

Dr. Jane C. Wright

Research

1953 - 1960

Bellevue Hospital, New York City

I was 4 years old when my mother was diagnosed with Hodgkins Disease. At the time (1952), this disease was terminal and my mother was given no more than one year to live. My mother was referred to Dr. Wright, whose care increased my mother's lifespand by 7 years. I was able to know my mother during those years, and relish wonderful memories I would not have without Dr. Wright's work. Today, my family speaks often of a kind and gentle doctor who helped us through a very long and difficult time. My father and grandmother, in particular, hold her in the highest respect. As a young child, spending many days in the hospital while mother was being treated, I too remember the awe I felt for Dr. Wright, always carefully groomed, wearing a white jacket with stethoscope. This exhibit is a wonderful acknowledgement and recognition of a woman who has changed the lives of more people than she will every know. Thank you Dr. Wright.

Veronica Bugenhagen, M.D.

Family Practice

April 2003

Houston, Texas

When my primary care physician told me over the phone when I called to see if lab results were in "You have diabetes. Don't eat any sugar. I'm calling in a prescription for you." The rx he prescribed had one side effect of causing diarrhea (he'd been treating me for diarrhea for two years...ever since a gall bladder removal.) He also ignored three EKG results showing small heart attacks. I found Dr. Bugenhagen on line and made an appointment....taking copies of lab & test results with me. She spent over an hour with me that first visit....unheard of in this day and age. She is patient and careful that I understand her instructions. She referred me to a cardiologist, dietician and opthalmologist. I had become cynical about modern medicine...she renewed my faith. For the first time in years I feel as though I'm making headway in managing my physical problems. She actually listens to her patients. I had given up and thought seeing a doctor was pointless. She is an angel in a lab coat, yes she is.

Patricia Numann

Endocrine Surgery and Breast Surgery

1981 - present

Syracuse New York

Pat Numann has been my Mother's Cancer doctor since 1981. I personally think that she is a great Doctor as one can see by looking at her website. My mother says "She is also the most caring human being you are ever likely to know. She epitomizes everything a genuine doctor should be."

dr smith

june of last year

well my doctor helped me when i had caught tonsilitis (infection of the tonsils) i was is so much pain! tonsilitis is where you have constant high fever, swelling of the tonsils, and severe reddness and irritation. also you are not able to eat and you can barely breathe. and i was blacking out a lot and was stuggling to breathe. but they had to get my fever down as soon as possible. so dr.smith was very helpful she fixed me right up and was so amazing . she had me breathing and eating in no time!!!!!

Karen Casciaro

Internal Medicine

2001

Illinois

Dr. Casciaro is my personal physician, but she is much more. She is the kind of doctor who really listens to her patients. I was diagnosed with cancer and she encouraged me to research the topic, helped me choose the oncologists I needed to see, listened to me when I was scared. I trust her completely and think she is just terrific.

Dr. Akamatsu

?

1991

Japan, Hiroshima

I was born in 1986 in Tokyo.When i was four years old, i moved to Hiroshima for a surgery because my nose kept on bleeding since i got in an accident when i was about two years old. So i was introduced to a doctor named Akamatsu. They said that she was a specialist. My mom agrreed that the doctor could operate my nose. So but the problem was that we didn't had enough money to pay for the operation. It costed about eight thousand dollars, and we had only 4.7 thousand dollars. The doctor was so friendly to me that she even paid the rest of the operation. After two weeks the nose bleed stopped. She was my hero since then.

DR.Brown

medicine

1996

Stuttgart,Germany

Dr.Brown was my doctor when i was about eight years. This story started when i had very high fever, and bronchitis. I couldn't concentrate in school, because of my sickness. But i tried going to school, even though i was sick, because it would cause my grades to go down. a doctor named Ben Schmeichel my old doctor gave me medicines that were strong, but couldn't help me at all. So i went to an other doctor named Brown. She looked for the origin of my sickness for about 40 minutes. Then she gave me different medicines from the other doctor. So when i took all the four medicines a day, after one week i was healed. And i really didn't know that she was an expert in medicine for ten years and helped children that are very sick in a special service. so i really really thanked her, becasue without her my sickness would still be there.

Linda Arrancio

Internal medicine

New Year's Eve, 1993

Montville, NJ

My wife had a stomach ache, which was not unusual--it was Christmas week, we had not been eating well, I was working late most nights, and we had two children under three years old. She was up all night on 12/30 to 12/31, then called me at work to come home. She called Dr. Arrancio, who told her to go to the hospital, that it was appendicitis. My wife tried to make excuses--she was alone with the children etc., but Dr. Arrancio inisted, apologizing that she was away and could not see my wife, and sharing a story about getting sick herself with a waiting room full of her own and her husband's patients while he was away. We got to the ER in plenty of time, thanks to Dr. Arrancio. Within a few years, Dr. Arrancio got sick and died in her thirties. It was then that we learned that she had overcome many physical obstacles to become a doctor and to maintain an active practice--we are lucky she did.

Dr. Janet Robinson

ob/gyn

1996

Murphosboro, Illinois

I had met her briefly before she had to deliver my baby by filling in for another doctor. She delivered my daughter Jessica who is now 12. When I decided to go with a local doctor for my pregnancy after that, I was not cared for and the doctor on call didn't want to be there and treated us like that; the baby had something wrong that if he would have just payed a little attention he could have been saved. He passed and it was our first little boy after 4 girls so it was a tragic loss to my oldest who was a son and waited so long for this little man. The doctor was called and was told of his serious condition and he chose to stay home to get his kids in bed first, which were his exact words. So 3 hours later, he decides to show up and the baby is in full arrest as they take him from my arms. I lost my baby son after severe pain and 2 surgeries he suffered through over a tiny twist in his bowel. I became pregnant with another son and went to this doctor that I admired since my daughters delivery and told her what had happened and I was very scared it would happen again. She comforted me and watched for any little bad sign. Because it happened so close to the other baby's birth I had complications from 6 weeks on. She admitted me at 30 weeks because his heart rate was dropping due to my low amount of fluid. When I went to the hospital because of leaking out fluid, she would just look into my eyes with her silent, confident strength and I knew baby would be in good hands. The day of delievery they held me off until she could get there and I had every possible trauma team member available just in case there were problems. When I went to the hospital the baby was in the danger area of low heart beat and her quick responce and professionalism along with her strength, grace, and compassion helped me through those scary minutes when I was worried baby would die before they got him out. It turned out on the day of delievery, josh came out fine and went home the next day. His entrance into the world was fast and that''s the way he has been since; on the go, busy, energetic young man. Thanks to Dr. Robinson