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Patient Testimonials

When technology, research, expertise, and compassion come together, amazing things happen. It is testimonials like the ones you read below that validate what we do and keeps us focused on being "Dedicated to the Work of Healing." If you or a loved one was a Sanford Health patient and would like to share your story with us, please click here.

David Zylstra "My triple AAA came as a complete surprise with no warning on 6/13/07 while visiting the Ortman Clinic at Canistota South Dakota. At 5:30 p.m. after an evening meal, I started to experience severe abdominal pain with vomiting. By 8:00 p.m. the pain was unbearable so my wife Darlene called the ambulance. Upon arriving in the emergency room at the Sanford hospital my first contact was with two gentlemen dressed in blue coveralls. I joked with the two that they must be short of staff members when they had to have the janitor crew taking care of the patients. They assured me that the patch on their coveralls signified that they were helicopter pilots and real doctors and they were helping out the emergency room staff. Then I heard Dr. Patrick Kelly's voice on the loud speaker calmly saying that he was 6 minutes out and he would be right there. At 12:30 a.m. I went into surgery and by 2:30 a.m. I came out of surgery. I entered the intensive care unit later that morning and saw my whole family standing by my bedside. At that point I knew how serious my condition had been the night before.

Dr. Patrick Kelly had performed a miracle during the middle of the night and saved my life. Everyone from the nurses to the janitors treated me and my family members as though we were visiting royalty from another country. The nurses and staff members that checked on me were so courteous and caring everytime they came into my room. I was very impressed with being able to pick up the phone, call down and order each meal from a menu, and half an hour later -- in walks someone with the meal I had ordered. It was like being at a fine hotel instead of a hospital.

Since my surgery I have been asked countless times about how I am feeling and about my experience. My response is always the same each time. God had positioned me at the right place at the right time to have Dr. Kelly and the staff at the Sanford Hospital save my life. One out of three patients does not survive the condition that I had. I tell everyone that God gave me a second chance, and from my personal experience if I had to do it again -- take me to the Sanford Hospital and let the janitors and Dr. Kelly perform their God-given ability."

David Zylstra

I wanted to let you know about some wonderful people you have at Sanford, specifically, Dr. Maria Bell.

On December 3, my wife Linda was diagnosed with endometrial cancer and had scheduled robotic surgery for December 13 at the Methodist Hospital in Omaha. The surgery was re-scheduled to December 28 due to a fluke laboratory error showing thin blood. We live in SE Nebraska and Omaha appeared to be the logical choice for the surgery.

On December 18 we woke at 4:30am realizing we just did not want to wait. We did an internet search of Doc's doing robotic oncology and emailed five or six. We asked for help. A few hours later, we get a call from Dr. Bell, who not only took the time to read our email, but called us herself to get more information. We were overjoyed with her response time and her willingness to make an appointment to meet with her the very next day. As a result of her initiative to call us back and the success of our first appointment, Dr. Bell scheduled surgery for the following Friday, December 21. Keep in mind this all happened within four days!

Our son is a family practice Doc in Lincoln and he gave us a web site to do a "background check" for $30. We were curious to find out more about Dr. Bell - a surgeon from South Dakota who cared enough to respond to our "cry for help" within hours! We also checked out Sanford and soon realized our prayers were answered, that we were being taken care of by the best, and the attention Dr. Bell gave us was normal for her, according to staff at the hospital and clinic. (It should be noted that Dr. Bell has the highest regard for Dr. Crotzer in Methodist Hospital Omaha, and his office has the highest regard for Dr. Bell during our conversations about getting earlier treatment etc.)

Everyone was wonderful, as we were treated with so much care and love. When Dr. Bell's nurse Cheryl gave my wife a hug before we left, I admit I almost lost my composure! The high quality of care was provided to us throughout our stay. Darlene and the post op care staff in Room 3413 were wonderful. Also, on our last day, the cleaning woman was emptying our trash cans, and we were casually talking to her and asked her how many beds there were in the hospital. She said she didn't know and we thought no more about it. Then later in the morning, she came back and told us there were over 400 beds. Amazing... not the number of beds, but the fact that this lady actually took time to find out and get back to us. So you see, from the first person (Dr. Bell) to the very last contact by the cleaning lady, patient care was exceptional. As I am writing this, we don't know what the results of the lab test with the cancer will be, but we do know we look forward to coming back in three weeks to meet with Dr. Bell.

Roger Jacobsen, Ceneva, NE

Hannah - 2 lbs. 2 oz.

Hannah - 3 years old

"It is such a blessing to have a state of the art facility such as the Boekelheide NICU at Sanford Children’s Hospital available. Naturally I, like every parent would have loved to have had the ‘Gerber Baby’ experience with our first child. That is not what was in store for us. In May of 2003 our Daughter Hannah was born at 31 weeks, weighing 2 lbs. 2 oz. and was a NICU patient for 59 days. During that time we were fortunate to receive care from talented and compassionate Physicians, nurses and support staff. Over those two months we were treated like family, not patients with a chart number. Without the expertise and specialized care Hannah received at Sanford, she would not be the happy, healthy 3-year old she is today. We are so grateful to have benefited from the facility. Residents of the area are so fortunate to have this hospital and NICU ready and waiting for them if needed. To only be a maximum of a few hours away by road or by air is a gift. When we were expecting our second child, if it would have been necessary, there is no other NICU I would have come to than Sanford Health."

Steph
Gibbon, MN

"We feel so BLESSED to have been entrusted by God with Sam's care. He is a very special and extraordinary little boy. Sam has always had to work much harder at life than neurotypical children. But he does so eagerly, enthusiastically and with the warmth and a smile that causes every one who knows him to fall in love. His every accomplishment is hugely rewarding as nothing comes naturally to little Sam, but instead must be taught to him, often by nontraditional means.

We accept his challenges and are fully aware that Sam would not be the content, happy and successful child that he has become without the professionals at Sanford Children's we have had the good fortune of sharing their time, knowledge and hearts with. It is such a HUGE honor to his family and friends to allow him the privilege of being an advocate and supporter of all the truly wonderful and amazing work of so many at Sanford Children's."

Mark & Lin
Iowa

"We would like to thank Dr. Washechek and all the staff at Sanford Mid-Dakota. There is a new level of excellence at Sanford Mid-Dakota Medical Center and we recommend it to anyone preparing for the birth of their child."

Travis & Jenna
South Dakota

Gabriel Long "Gabriel received top-notch care from the NICU team, to the nurses and the flight technicians. Everyone was supportive and professional. In our time of need, we know we were in the best hands. It was like having an extended family looking out for our little guy. This entire ordeal went better than we could have ever imagined. From the faculty to the first-rate facilities, Sanford Children’s Hospital is the one place we will look back on as making the best of a tough situation and allowing all of us to get through the process with confidence and assurance.

Also, thanks so much for the CMN donation. The financial assistance we received really helped out in our time of need. Again, one less thing to worry about!"

Sherry
Sioux Falls, SD

Without the Cardiac Rehab class I would have a difficult time maintaining a regular exercise routine. The encouragement and support that I receive from the group motivated me to continue on.

Duane Stokke