Patient & Resident Stories
Have a story you’d like to share? Use our contact form to let us know.
Petula Holden
Colon Cancer Surgery
I’ve always been a great supporter of cancer awareness, but I never thought I would be a cancer patient. Thanks to General Surgery Associates, Dr. Damian DeFrancesch and my faith, I’m alive today. Dr. DeFrancesch found the cancer during a routine colonoscopy when I turned 50....
Laurie Morrow
Breast Cancer Surgery
When I went for my annual mammogram, radiologist Dr. Ben Hogg saw something suspicious and did an ultrasound. Concerned, he recommended I see a surgeon and get a biopsy. The mammography technologist who did my mammogram knew I was planning on going to see my...
Gene Spillman
Gall Bladder Surgery
“When I needed gallbladder surgery, I put my trust in NRMC and my doctors — cardiologist Dr. Chris Ingram, general surgeons Dr. Bill Ball and Dr. Damian DeFrancesch. I knew my gallbladder had to come out, so I said “Let’s do it.” When I woke...
Bonnie Matthews
Natchitoches Assisted Living Resident
For the past three and a half years, Bonnie Matthews has made Natchitoches Assisted Living (NAL) her home. For several years, she visited friends there and liked what she saw. When her children retired and began travelling, she wanted to downsize and felt NAL would...
Doug Ireland
Hernia and Gall Bladder Surgery
Late one Friday night, Doug Ireland, Sports Information Director and Assistant Athletics Director at Northwestern State University, began experiencing intense abdominal pain. Thinking that maybe he had a case of indigestion, a stomach bug, or maybe even food poisoning, he hoped he would start feeling...
Mr. Allen Horton
Courtyard & Natchitoches Assisted Living Resident
Born in Eunice, Louisiana, Allen Horton raised his children in New Iberia where he lived for more than 50 years and taught school. His wife, Betty Millspaugh Horton, was a native of Natchitoches, and although his wife passed away more than 20 years ago, Allen’s visits to see extended family in...
Eliza Brittain Behrendsen
Breast Cancer
Eliza Brittain Behrendsen is no stranger to breast cancer. Her mother and mother-in-law passed away from it. As life sometimes goes, Eliza was caring for her mother-in-law when she herself felt a bump of sorts in her breast. Thinking it was just a cyst, Eliza thought she might need to get it drained. A busy mother of two high school aged sons and active with many projects and community events, Eliza really hoped the bump was nothing. However, somewhat concerned she mentioned the “cyst” to her sister, Dr. Marguerite (Cissy) Picou.
Reggie Rice
Living out in the country, where Reggie takes care of his property and raises chickens and other farm animals, he realized his pain was becoming a problem. It was difficult to perform his daily chores, and in time, even getting up and caring for himself became painful. Walking any distance was a challenge, because the pain in his legs was so intense. Out of necessity, he traded some equipment for a golf cart so he could get around the property to care for the animals. At night, it was impossible to lie flat in his bed comfortably. Instead, he settled for a recliner where he could sleep short periods of time with less pain.
Martha Russel Greer
One night, Martha woke up in the middle of the night with a sharp pain in the pit of her stomach. “Really bad stomach ache,” she thought to herself. By the next morning, she was feeling better and wondered if she had some sort of...
Kathleen Cloud
Thanksgiving week, Kathleen Cloud had intense pain in her side and felt nauseated. She knew something was seriously wrong. She went to two different emergency rooms for care over the course of a week and learned that her problem had to do with her gallbladder. The medicines prescribed did not seem to work, and that’s when Kathleen turned to Natchitoches Regional Medical Center.