At 7 years old, Lily Hensiek's biggest worries were homework and getting her ears pierced. But when she started complaining of back pain, experiencing fevers and bruising easily, her family began to worry. 

The Vanderbilt Health trauma staff cares for thousands of patients each year, but the team was never expecting they would face three mass shootings in just seven months.

In March 2016, all that should have been on seventh-grader Drew Estes’ mind was middle school baseball tryouts and basketball practice. But when he developed a persistent fever, his parents took him to the doctor to see what was wrong.

At 53, Ron Duncan was a successful businessman who played multiple sports and considered himself to be in great health. But when he started having abdominal pain, he visited his doctor and received devastating news. What he thought was just a hernia from playing sports was much more serious.

“A parent’s worst nightmare” is how Lametra Scott, PharmD, CCHP, describes the moment her son Rickey was diagnosed with sickle cell disease, a blood disorder that can cause blood clots and severe pain. As a new mom, Lametra was scared and had a lot of questions. Fortunately, she had a highly specialized program nearby at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Jocelyn and Ted Limmer were ecstatic when they found out they were expecting. It was right before their third wedding anniversary, and the couple describes it as the greatest moment of their lives. But on her first obstetrician visit, Jocelyn mentioned a lump in her breast, thinking it was due to her pregnancy. After a biopsy, Jocelyn learned she had invasive ductal carcinoma, triple negative, stage 2 breast cancer.

Anne Marie Tharpe, PhD, and her husband, Jim Kramka, are making a gift to VUMC through their wills in honor of Tharpe’s late father.

Their condominium in The Westbury was at the heart of all that William and Frances Blot loved about Nashville — especially its proximity to Vanderbilt where he worked for two decades. When William Blot became emeritus professor of Medicine, the Blots moved away from Nashville and gave from their hearts, deeding their home to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

For many Vanderbilt University Medical Center patients, expressing gratitude for their health often takes a philanthropic turn, leaving both the patient and the physician feeling fulfilled.

After getting hit in the head with a baseball, a scan revealed that Jordan had a cerebral cavernous malformation -- a large tumor on his brain. After researching the best programs in the country, the Johnsons decided that the neurosurgery team at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt was the right choice.