With Gratitude:  Patient Stories

At nearly six months pregnant with her fourth child, Amy Donlan was diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension—a rare and life-threatening condition that made even crossing a room feel impossible. Referred to Dr. Corey Ventetuolo at Rhode Island Hospital, Amy was confronted with the gravity of the situation: she was in heart failure at just 30 years old.

For nearly two years, Andrew Rosenberg experienced physical discomfort that was difficult to describe and even harder to diagnose. “I had an increasing sense of tingling and numbness in my left hand and fingers, and over time, my left arm began to feel very heavy when I would raise it,” he recounts. “I would also occasionally lose my balance and feel less steady on my feet. But no one could pinpoint what was wrong with me.”

For years, Lauren Riccio, a 37-year-old mom, suffered seizures while she slept—as many as 15 to 20 a night. But despite repeated efforts, medical providers from various facilities failed to pinpoint the cause of her seizures or find a way to stop them. 

One morning in 2019, Eleanor Langham tripped and fell in her apartment, hitting her head on a coffee table. Unbeknownst to her at the time, that painful accident would be the beginning of a long, trying journey.