Posts Categorized: Patient Stories

COPD patient becomes stronger with exercise

Sabine Brouillette credits her health team at Edmonton Southside PCN for saving her life. The 67-year-old COPD patient’s breathing was becoming worse. When she was refused treatment at her dentist because of her breathing, she went to see her family doctor, Dr. Colleen Johnston, at Town Centre Family Clinic. Dr. Johnston referred Sabine to a…

Health scare forces patient to start moving

A hospital scare forced Lorraine Henry into a wakeup call about quitting smoking. In June, Lorraine was feeling extremely tired and had tightness in her chest. She visited her family doctor, Dr. Dennis Wong, had told him she thought she had a sinus infection. She was given antibiotics but her feet and ankles started to…

Physical activity leads to stronger patient

Waiting for a diagnosis caused Audrey Karpetz to become inactive and gain weight. Audrey had difficulty breathing and it took eight months to pin the cause of sarcoidosis, a lung disease that inflames the organ and left her with no energy. “There was a long time when I couldn’t walk. The pain was so bad,”…

Patient succeeds with small steps

Step by step is how Maha Chehayeb achieved her goal of becoming more physically active despite health issues. She was told by her family doctor, Dr. Rafi Husain that she needed to lose weight before considering knee surgery related to advanced arthritis. Her medical history also includes diabetes, high blood pressure and a large abdominal…

Learning to run results in quitting smoking

Armed with resources from Edmonton Southside PCN, Brenna Frisby has stopped smoking and started exercising.Brenna heard about the PCN while listening to an interview about the Learn to Run for Smokers workshop on CBC Edmonton. “I had wanted to quit for a while. I was just struggling with it. I just decided this would be…

Patient finds a way out of the dark hole of depression

Scott Wood’s life was crashing until a visit to his family doctor brought him back on the right track. His spiral into a deep depression started in 2009 when he witnessed a head-on collision between a small car and a rig truck on Highway 33 between Swan Hills and Whitecourt during a spring storm. “The…

Patient learns to advocate for herself

Karen Beler credits Sue Perry for helping her change her life. Before meeting Sue, a mental health coordinator at Edmonton Southside Primary Care Network, Karen describes herself as stressed, untrusting and a hermit. She also couldn’t say no to others. “All my friends used to take advantage of me and when I couldn’t do anything for…

Patient focuses on overall health to live longer

When Kieth Mumford’s family doctor saw that his blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar levels were rising, he asked his patient to see a primary care nurse and a registered dietitian at the clinic. Dr. Michael Hamilton explained to Kieth that these services were offered through Edmonton Southside Primary Care Network. The nurse monitored his blood…

Reaching daily goal motivates patient

Mary-Anne Janewski walks a steady pace around the track at The Meadows Recreation Centre. She’s aiming to reach her daily goal of 10,000 steps. What keeps her motivated is seeing the changes in her health. Mary-Anne is an example of an Edmonton Southside Primary Care Network patient who started her journey with her family doctor….

Carrots and a treadmill kick starts health improvement

Patients often report knowing exactly what lifestyle changes they need to make for improved health, but find their good intentions all too often give way to entrenched behaviours and lifelong habits. Physicians, meanwhile, struggle with the time intensity involved in lifestyle counselling, wondering what more they can do to bridge the gap between what’s agreed…