Cheryl Blackburn felt blessed when she received a kidney from her son, Josh, on Sept. 10, 2019. She was blessed again at discharge thanks to our generous donors. The entire cost of the immunosuppressant medications and insulin that she needed…
In 2019, Memorial Medical Center Foundation launched a new fundraiser to benefit five patient assistance funds. Proceeds from the 75 Grand Raffle were distributed among the: Breast Cancer Patient Assistance Fund, Cancer Patient Assistance Fund, Sexual Assault Survivor Fund, Sharing…
With the help of Memorial Home Hospice and a special nurse and social worker, Brandie Wright and Belinda Turley pulled off a surprise pool party to celebrate their mom, Sue Turley, 69, a hospice patient. Sue retired from Memorial Child…
Tanisha Smith traveled to Illinois for a life-changing reason in July 2018. She was donating a kidney. Tanisha is originally from Decatur, Ill., but now lives in Marietta, Ga., with her husband, Jamal, and five children. In 2015, she found…
At the height of World War II, young naval lieutenant John Schaeffer helped construct supply bases in the South Pacific—building airstrips, mobile hospitals and roads on islands dotted across the embattled ocean. At the age of 99, more than 70…
Earlier in her life, Dolores Shoup didn’t have many opportunities to celebrate her birthday. But that changed when she moved to a group home for people with developmental disabilities in Taylorville 14 years ago. Since then, Dolores has enjoyed celebrating the…
The call came on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day seven years ago. Michelle Buscher, then 42 years old, was soundly slumbering, enjoying the last day of a three-day weekend before going back to work. Her phone rang promptly at 8…
When Carol Harms went in for her annual mammogram this February and a suspicious spot was found, she didn’t give it too much thought. There’s very little presence of cancer in her family. And she had been feeling intermittently unwell…
If you ask Helen “Buzzy” Burris what one of her final wishes would be, the fun-loving mother will reply with a smirk, “Tall, dark and handsome.” Her response reveals some of the spirited banter she shares with the people in…
Each day spent caring for people who are living their last moments or taking their last breaths might seem like a difficult job. But for Memorial Home Hospice caregivers, the rewards are countless. When the end of life is near,…