You Inspire The Best in Us.

With the many advances in cancer treatment, today’s cancer patients have more and more reasons for hope. Portraits of Hope are the incredible stories of our patients and their journeys of hope and survival. Click on a thumbnail and scroll down to view each story.

  • Emergency Cardic Care with Extraordinary Outcomes
  • In the Nick of Time
  • TAVR – A Team Effort
  • Joseph Longo
  • Taking Stroke Care to the Next Level
  • Opening New Doors in Vascular Care
  • A Wake-up Call to Live For Today
  • Life-Saving Friends
  • Journey from Heart Disease to Cancer: A Life Saved
  • A New Treatment For Aneurysm Repair
  • Two Hospitals partner in Stroke Prevention
  • Lorene Godbold
  • Shirley Simon
  • Brenda Kelly
  • Suné Watts
  • Pam Palmer
  • Second Chance at Life
  • Where the Road Leads
  • Walking the Right Path Together
  • Ready for the Next 70 Years
  • Moving in The Right Direction
  • Saving the Life of Captain Howard
  • TCAR A Big Name in Stroke Care
  • Coach Nelson
    Faced with the match of his life, couch Nelson was glad we were on his team
  • Patsy Simmons
    We mended her heart, so she could tend to her garden
  • Mike Cullipher
    Back to the Top of His Game
  • Randy Rouse
    Picture Perfect Recovery
  • Teresa Ward
    A Grateful Heart
  • Paul Winter
    Finding A New Path

Coach Nelson

When the unexpected happens, you need a strong team behind you. No one knows that more than Charlie Nelson, a retired teacher and tennis coach in Florence. What started as a feeling of pressure and back pain, quickly became a matter of life or death. Coach Nelson went to the nearest emergency department where tests revealed a tear in his aorta, resulting in critical blood supplies being cut off from major organs. The McLeod HeartReach ambulance quickly transported him to McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, where Dr. Christopher Cunningham, a top McLeod Vascular Surgeon, went to work. Using x-ray imaging, Dr. Cunningham skillfully guided a catheter through the artery and sealed the tear with a stent graft. Thankfully, when Coach Nelson was in the match of his life, our vascular expertise served up the healthcare ace he needed.