Sandy Meyer – A cancer diagnosis

A cancer diagnosis, unfortunately, is nothing new to Sandy Carlson. She has a rare form, thymoma cancer, which causes tumors to form on the outside of her thymus, in the chest area. Her most recent diagnosis required the removal of several tumors on her heart, lung and stomach, and she turned to the Hope Fund…

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Christen Isabell – Assistance arrives just in time

Christen Isabell really enjoys watching her children play sports, but in April 2013 she experienced a parent’s worst nightmare from the sidelines. “My son, Brennan, was playing baseball for his high school and collided with another player,” recalls Christen, a Parallon Clerical Specialist for Physician Services in Mt. Pleasant, TN. “His cleat was stuck in…

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Tom Quinn – Right place, right time

When Tom Quinn went to work for LewisGale Medical Center, he was excited about all aspects of his new job. As a nurse, Tom really enjoys being able to help people, and he also likes being part of a workplace family. But within a few months of coming to LewisGale, the 44-year-old went from nurse…

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Emily Boyce – Coping with unexpected medical needs

Over her five-year career with HCA, Emily Boyce had heard of the Hope Fund, but had never really paid that much attention to it, and what it does. In early 2012, that all changed. “That January, we moved from Las Vegas to Nashville as I began a new job within HCA,” says Emily, a former…

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Stephanie Sheldon – Surviving a Tragedy

  On May 4, 2010, I was in a motorcycle accident that nearly took my life.  The bike went through a fence and hit a tree.  I was wearing full protective gear.  I remember thinking, “wow it’s dark and there are no sounds.  This is what it’s like when you die.”  I woke up three…

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Cecelia Sonnenberg – One Brave Girl

Cecelia Sonneberg knows that she’s sick.  Some days she can barely eat or move.  But this spirited 4-year-old doesn’t let the “canker sore in her eye” keep her down.  Last January, Cecelia was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a cancer of the eye.  Every three to four weeks she travels over 1,200 miles round trip for an…

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