Patient Stories

David Ehren’s days often include watching his three grandsons. It’s a joy for the 63-year-old grandfather. It’s also a physically demanding duty, due to the rambunctiousness three brothers can cook up.

When Paige’s water broke at 37 weeks pregnant, she was ready to meet her baby. It was a markedly different feeling from earlier in her pregnancy, when, at 25 weeks gestation, Paige underwent a surgery at Barnes-Jewish Hospital to repair a defect in her baby’s spine. With tears in her eyes, Paige was wheeled back to the operating room, hoping that doctors wouldn’t have to deliver her baby early because of the procedure.

Since an athletic injury suffered in his late 20s, Bill’s hard-charging approach to work and sports clashed with severe, right shoulder problems. For decades, he did his best to ignore the pain. But when the agony reached an all-time high, Bill turned to the WashU Medicine orthopedic specialists at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital.

Imagine waking up one day with a strange sensation in your legs. It’s not pain exactly, but it’s not normal — you don’t quite feel like your brain is coordinating with your limbs. As time goes on, the strange feeling in your legs affects your balance and gait.

But the minor twinge that started after one of her regular weight-lifting sessions soon grew into intense shoulder pain with accompanying arm and wrist weakness that threatened to sidetrack her busy life.

Bill Bunch’s favorite activities include golfing, tending to his yard, and playing catch with his grandson. Each one became more difficult and less enjoyable for the retiree during a six-year span in which a worsening back condition affected his hips, legs, and feet.

Two wheels sped down a rural Missouri highway, and a 14-year-old fell in love. “It was a freedom feeling,” Tom Waller says, more than six decades after his first motorcycle ride. “And I’ve never lost it.

Eight years ago, Christopher Davis, 54, was in pain and learned he had arthritis in his hips, and that the condition would gradually reduce his mobility. Christopher was living in California at the time, and his doctor told him that he would eventually need surgery.

Growing up, Tim Parker's mother was his hero. So when she passed away suddenly, Tim decided it was fitting that his mom act as a hero for others in need of lifesaving organs.

Discover how BJC’s weight-loss programs can help you achieve better health—just like Donna Martin did.