Churchill Downs is home to hundreds of horse races each year. Norton Sports Health is on hand to provide medical care for jockeys at each one of these contests — from small-field maiden races all the way up to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks. We all know and love “the most exciting two minutes…
On the morning of March 12, 2019, I was still in a surgical gown and groggy after a colonoscopy when gastroenterologist William B. Evans, III, M.D., walked into the recovery room to deliver news I didn’t quite know what to do with. I still remember his words: “The good news is that I didn’t see…
Amanda Cundiff, R.N., a labor and delivery nurse at Norton Hospital, has been taking photos for over 14 years. She enjoys being behind the camera to creatively capture moments that people will recall and treasure. Not long ago, Amanda saw an opportunity to use her photography skills to help a patient. Chautauqua Henderson, an expectant…
At age 25, Alexis Helm had been pregnant three times, and her heart was failing. The increased blood volume from her pregnancies and strain on her heart muscle had taken a toll, as it does with many women. With her fourth pregnancy, she knew she risked damaging her heart further but wanted to do all…
Ken Haas, a corrections officer and SWAT team lead with the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office in Southern Indiana, was training police recruits in 2020 when a demonstration resulted in a shoulder injury. Training recruits in handcuffing It was a normal day on the job for this now 54-year-old, but as one of the recruits attempted…
RaShaw Edelen faced a question from his uncle he didn’t know how to answer. RaShaw was excited to restore an old car, but his uncle asked him what he planned to do with it when it was finished. “Where was I going to put it? The side of the street wasn’t a great place to…
It’s Friday evening, and Against the Grain Brewery in Louisville, Kentucky, is hopping. There’s food to serve, drinks to make and customers to keep happy. In the thick of it all is director of operations Jason Smith. You wouldn’t know it by looking at him, but Jason, 48, has been battling Parkinson’s disease for eight…
Being a hairdresser is all Amy James ever wanted to be. “I remember styling my Barbie doll’s hair and telling my mom I wanted to be a beautician,” Amy said. Her dreams came true when she opened her own salon in 2000. So when Amy was faced with a possible career-ending injury, she was devastated….
Katina Griffith, R.T., a respiratory care coordinator at Norton Children’s Hospital, makes her impact helping sick kids recover in the pediatric intensive care unit and Jennifer Lawrence Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. As a registered respiratory therapist, she’s been a vital part of helping the hospital respond to surges of COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus…
Helping patients with cancer live more comfortably often can weigh heavy on Rikka S. Foster’s heart and mind. As a medical assistant at Norton Cancer Institute Women’s Cancer Center, Rikka helps care for patients who have breast cancer and some who are in palliative care. According to Rikka, she wants to be there for every…
Teri Johnson works a full-time job, is a football and wrestling mom and works hard to be present for her children. While that may not seem out of the ordinary, it’s a complete 180-degree change from where she was just two years ago. In her early 20s, Teri found herself without a job and in…
It’s an all-too-common experience — lack of quality health insurance, a chronic illness and mounting bills set off a chain of bad luck and a financial struggle. A mystery illness The trouble started in the spring of 2022. “I started feeling burning in my arms, shoulders and fingers. Just excruciating pain,” said Thomas Williams, 55,…