Life-saving Stories

“MR” was a healthy man for most of his life. But recently his age, increased weight, and underlying medical problems, had taken their toll on his heart. Once able to keep a head of almost anyone, when he arrived in Boston this time, he was barely able to walk up one flight of stairs.

His emergency bypass and heart valve replacement at a Major Harvard Teaching Hospital went perfectly. He was out of the hospital in just days and beginning his exercise and strengthening program within a week from his hotel room overlooking the Boston Harbor. That was almost 10 years ago. Today he can still keep ahead of most anyone.

“JJ” was still living life to the fullest. But he was just not feeling right. After a routine physical exam, his local doctor gave him the worst of all news. He had cancer, and there was no treatment available in his country. For sure, there was no simple answer. But there was an answer. First, there was a call to WorldPath and a WorldPath physician immediately answered his call. We knew there was no simple answer. But there was an answer.

Rapidly, we assembled a team of medical and surgical experts. It was determined that treatment must be immediate, in order to be effective and must involve both highly technical surgery, and state of the art clinical trials available at our teaching institutions in Boston. Things are going well, and JJ is now living life to the fullest, knowing his team is continuing to monitor his care, and always just a phone call away.

“BR” had dreamed of having a family. It was devastating to her, when she learned that she would be unable to have children of her own. But she would not give up on her dream. And she found her dream team at WorldPath, who worked with her and her husband, to come up with solutions. And today her dream has come true- a precious little girl, with big dark eyes, just like her mother!

“AH” looked to everyone else like a perfectly wonderful healthy little girl. But she wasn’t. After just catching a ball or running a few feet, she would become exhausted and her lips would turn blue. She had a very complicated congenital abnormality of her heart and blood vessels. Although present since birth, this was only recently diagnosed as her symptoms worsened.

She needed an expert team who had done this complicated operation many many times. And she found it at WorldPath. And now she is a perfectly wonderful, healthy little girl, again.

“HN” had many medical problems in his life that he had overcome. His time was his most valuable asset, running his multinational company, but always devoted and available for his wife and children, and his extended family. Now it seemed time was running out for him.

Only an organ transplant could save his life, and return him to his family, his work and the vigor of his prior years. Planning was complex. But we did it. And we see him, every year for his check up. We consider him a part of our extended WorldPath family, and we delight in hearing stories about the grandchildren.

“JG” was enjoying a wonderful day playing and laughing the way little kids do. But mom noticed something was not right JG was complaining of a headache. Soon it was the worst headache of her young life. Her speech became slurred, and she was not behaving normally. Mom knew something was wrong and brought her to the local emergency room. And she called WorldPath. We were able to consult with the team of physicians treating her. From thousands of miles away, we were a team.

The family, the patient, the local physicians and the WorldPath team in Boston, all working together in real time, JG stayed overnight in the hospital in her city, but we were in constant communication with her family and her physicians there. Her care was excellent. She was diagnosed with Complex Migraine Syndrome. She is home now. And she will be fine.

“CQ” loves to explore, and has travelled to some of the world’s most wonderful, exotic and sometimes little travelled places. When he returned home from his last adventure, he expected to be tired. This was often the case. What followed next, was not at all expected. Within two days, CQ was sicker than he had ever been. Too sick to eat, too sick even to get out of bed, and much too sick to travel. The doctors at the local hospital were perplexed. His illness seemed to be related in some way to travel. But what the illness was, and where he contracted it, was a mystery. No one seemed to know.

WorldPath was summoned for assistance. Knowing that we needed to be there to help in unraveling the mystery, a team of experts was assembled urgently. The team flew to CG, and assisted with his care locally. If he were too sick to come to WorldPath, we would come to him. That was 10 years ago. CQ still loves to explore and loves to travel. So, twice each year, he travels to Boston, to see his team here.

“WL” did not expect to fall. Entertaining with friends and family, a sudden misstep changed his life. His knee replacement, performed two years ago, had suddenly became a life threatening emergency. The prosthesis that had been used was the wrong size and had been placed incorrectly. These mistakes had caused the implant to become loose during the fall causing a severe bone fracture.

These complications were well beyond to scope of local country experts who had performed the surgery.

The leg had become swollen and with circulation was now in jeopardy. He was at risk of loosing his leg. Or worse. One phone call to WorldPath, and our Gulfstream III air ambulance was mobilized to bring him to Boston. The team of Orthopedic Surgeons from Harvard Medical School was waiting. Within hours of his arrival, the injury and fracture that had threatened his life, were fixed with the correct, state of the art knee replacement. Within weeks, he was walking again.