With Gratitude:  Patient Stories

Isabel Allaire, 24, arrived at the emergency department trembling with excruciating pain, a loss of balance, and migraine. But by the time her Rhode Island Hospital patient journey ended, this grateful patient says she was “feeling better than I have in 10 years … like nothing happened.”

But something did happen. A lot, in fact.

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.