BJC HealthCare

The World Cup is coming to Missouri, and we couldn't be more excited! ⚽ 🏆

Meet Gabby, PT, DPT, SCS, a physical therapist and rehab specialist at the Young Athlete Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital Specialty Care Center, as well as a former soccer player.

“My own journey in physical therapy throughout my high school and college soccer careers, for various injuries, inspired me to pursue a career in PT,” Gabby said. “I have always had a love of working with children as well as a love for sports, and my dream was to be able to combine my passion for both into a career.”

Today, that experience helps her connect with young athletes as they work toward recovery and a return to the sports they love.

“Recovery is even greater than just returning to the field,” she said. “It is also about helping them trust their bodies and regain their identity.”

Gabby is passionate about providing evidence-based care rooted in genuine connection and helping every patient feel seen, heard, and supported. Whether she’s helping an athlete return to soccer, guiding a family through an injury, or mentoring future clinicians, Gabby is motivated by the opportunity to make a lasting impact through movement, education, and encouragement.

Many of the lessons she learned through soccer continue to shape her approach to patient care.

“Soccer has taught me that progress truly comes from consistency, teamwork, resilience, grit, and trusting the process,” she said.

As excitement builds for the World Cup’s arrival in North America, Gabby is looking forward to seeing the game inspire the next generation.

“The World Cup is a huge opportunity to grow the game here and inspire the next generation of soccer players," she said. "Including the young athletes I get to work with every day.”

For months, Khalid ignored his chest pain.

At 75, he was visiting family in St. Louis and assumed the discomfort that came and went was nothing more than fatigue. He wasn't worried. He felt fine, mostly.

"Most of the time, my chest pain happened when I was walking or when it was cold outside," Khalid says. "Since I was traveling and visiting relatives, I thought I was stressing myself out and getting tired."

Then one morning, the pain got worse. Khalid came to the Emergency Department at Progress West Hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with a non-ST elevation myocardial infarction—a type of heart attack caused by partially blocked coronary arteries. Left untreated, an NSTEMI can lead to serious complications, including further heart damage and stroke.

Khalid was hospitalized for monitoring and underwent heart catheterization performed by interventional cardiologist Sanjaya Saheta, MD—a diagnostic procedure that allows physicians to examine blood flow through the heart and its arteries.

Through it all, Khalid kept a quiet faith in his care team.

"I trust when I go to the doctor," he says. "I give myself up because they're experts and they know this stuff. I don't worry myself thinking about 'What's going to happen, and then what will I do?' I just sit tight and see what happens."

The catheterization revealed the need for further intervention. Khalid was referred to David Kardesch, MD, a BJC Medical Group interventional cardiologist, who placed three stents in Khalid's arteries during a single procedure—restoring blood flow and preventing long-term heart damage. Stents are tiny tubes placed in blocked blood vessels to keep them open, allowing blood to flow freely.

"The care I received at Progress West felt different from care I've received at other hospitals," Khalid says. "You can tell they provide care from the heart, and they were all down-to-earth, caring people."

Today, Khalid remains in St. Louis continuing his recovery—and if his progress continues, he'll be back home in Georgia this summer.

Read Khalid's full story—and Dr. Kardesch's tips for keeping your heart healthy: https://heyor.ca/0nsm5M

⚽ The World Cup is coming to Missouri, and BJC HealthCare is joining the excitement with watch parties and community events across St. Louis! ✨

Join us at these upcoming watch parties:

📍 Friday, June 12
USA vs. Paraguay
5–10:30 p.m. | Lou Fusz Plaza at Energizer Park
8:00 p.m. | The Hub in Chesterfield

📍Saturday, July 11
Quarterfinals
7:30 p.m. The Hub in Chesterfield

📍 Sunday, July 19
World Cup Final Watch Party
2:00 p.m. | The Hub in Chesterfield

We look forward to celebrating with our communities throughout the tournament and hope to see you at some (or all) of these events! 👀 🤩

From birth, Amy’s heart worked differently than most.

She was born with a bicuspid aortic valve and mitral valve prolapse—two congenital conditions that affect how blood flows through the heart and require lifelong monitoring.

When she was only 9, Amy had her first open-heart surgery at St. Louis Children's Hospital. She had another at 11. At 21, she underwent her third at Missouri Baptist Medical Center, where surgeons replaced her aortic valve and implanted a pacemaker to help regulate her heart rhythm.

In the years that followed, Amy felt great. She built a career, raised a family, and stayed committed to regular cardiology visits with Lalithkumar Chouhan, MD, at Alton Memorial Hospital.

Then last summer, she noticed something subtle: shortness of breath.

Trusting her instincts—and the body awareness built over decades—Amy sought care at her local Emergency Department, where she learned her heart was failing.

She was transferred to Christian Hospital, where further testing revealed her valve was no longer functioning properly, allowing blood to flow backward through her heart.

Given her surgical history, the care team at Christian referred Amy to cardiothoracic surgeon Joshua Baker, MD, at Missouri Baptist Medical Center.

She was now facing her fourth open-heart surgery—and her most complex yet.

Read Amy’s story and see how decades of connected care made a life, career, and family possible: https://heyor.ca/KXaRZp

Jodi's leg was amputated after a severe bone infection—so why was her missing leg still causing her pain?

"It felt like bolts of lightning shooting through my leg," Jodi says. "It would wake me up throughout the night. I was only getting about four hours of sleep, and I was exhausted."

Jodi was experiencing phantom limb pain, a condition where pain or other sensations occur in a limb that's no longer there.

The pain made everyday activities unpredictable—especially driving. The shocks could hit at any moment, making it hard to feel in control behind the wheel.

Jodi lives in a small town north of Hannibal, Missouri. After her amputation, she tried several treatments closer to home in hopes of finding relief. One option was targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR), a surgical procedure that can help reduce nerve pain in some amputees. But for Jodi, the phantom limb pain persisted.

Her orthopedic surgeon referred her to Alexander Chamessian, MD, a WashU Medicine pain management specialist who sees patients at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital.

Dr. Chamessian introduced Jodi to another option: spinal cord stimulation.

"Many amputees don't realize there are effective treatments available for phantom limb pain," Dr. Chamessian explains. "Spinal cord stimulation can significantly reduce pain and help patients return to normal activities."

The therapy uses a small device to send mild electrical signals to the spinal cord—interrupting pain signals before they reach the brain.

For Jodi, the first step was a one-week trial with the device. Thin wires were placed near her spinal cord and connected to a battery worn outside her body to see if the treatment would meaningfully reduce her pain.

"The difference was almost immediate," Jodi shares. "For the first time in a long time, I slept six to eight hours a night."

Because the trial was so successful, Jodi moved forward with a permanent spinal cord stimulator during an outpatient procedure at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital. The implanted battery lasts up to 10 years—offering long-term relief without the frequent maintenance required by some other pain management treatments.

Jodi says her phantom limb pain is now about 95% gone, and she's gotten something back she thought she had lost—her independence.

"Dr. Chamessian was phenomenal," Jodi says. "He listened to me, answered my questions, and was incredibly understanding. Everyone took exceptional care of me."

Read Jodi's full story to learn how she regained her independence with spinal cord stimulation: https://heyor.ca/AF4Ewx

Team BJC was proud to "walk the walk" in support of American Heart Association this past weekend. ❤️👟

Members from across BJC Health showed up to celebrate survivors of heart disease and stroke, and raise money for lifesaving research.

It's an honor to be able to show up for the health of our communities in our hospitals and beyond.

After multiple strokes, Crystal was told she had likely reached the limit of her recovery. She refused to let that be the end of her story.

“Somebody had to help me do everything,” she says.

Her right arm and hand lost strength and dexterity. Her balance was affected. Even her speech became less fluid. For years, she pushed forward through therapy, doing everything she could to regain strength and mobility. But like many stroke survivors, her progress eventually slowed.

Still, Crystal never gave up. When her physicians at Barnes-Jewish Hospital offered a new approach, she was eager to try.

WashU Medicine specialists use advanced neurorehabilitation technologies—including vagus nerve stimulation paired with intensive rehabilitation, and IpsiHand®, a brain-computer interface therapy—to help rewrite what recovery can look like for chronic stroke survivors.

“When we combine this therapy with targeted rehab, it allows patients to move beyond what was once considered a plateau,” says Alexandre Carter, MD, a WashU Medicine neurologist specializing in neurorehabilitation at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Crystal began noticing changes in everyday moments. Tasks that once felt frustrating or impossible started to come back.

Folding clothes. Cooking. Cleaning. Walking with a cup of water without spilling it.

“I can do that. I couldn’t do that before,” she says.

Her arm could lift higher. Her grip became stronger. She could grasp and release objects on her own again. She even found herself doing something she once thought she might never do again: jumping rope.

For Crystal, her progress added up to greater independence—and a renewed sense of what’s possible. Now, Crystal hopes her story encourages other stroke survivors not to give up—and to explore what might still be possible in their recovery.

“I did it,” she says. “And you can do it, too.”

Read Crystal’s full story and learn how WashU Medicine Physicians are helping patients move beyond what was once considered a plateau:
https://heyor.ca/iE2raO

WashU Medicine Orthopedics
WashU Medicine Neurology

Everyone’s shoulders are unique. Shouldn't their surgery be? Traditional implants aren't enough when bone is lost or joints are complex. Patients need a lasting solution engineered just for them.

“With 3D printing, we can now create implants that are designed to fit a person’s unique shoulder structure,” WashU Medicine orthopedic surgeon Jay Keener, MD, explains. “This gives us a way to help patients who might not have had any other options before.”

As part of one of the top orthopedic programs in the country, Dr. Keener and the team at Barnes-Jewish Hospital are advancing personalized shoulder replacement surgery. They leverage extensive experience and the latest technology to handle even the most complex cases.

Our new standard of care produces better outcomes—getting patients back to the activities they love with less pain and longer-lasting results. These results are driven by the surgical team's expertise in utilizing these key advancements:

🎯 Precision planning: 3D software maps the procedure more precisely than ever before, ensuring the implant is placed exactly where it needs to go.

✨ Pyrocarbon—engineered for longevity: For less wear and smoother movement, implants made with this leading-edge material are gentler on surrounding bone and built to keep up with the most active patients.

⚙️ Custom solutions for complex cases: Even patients with significant bone loss or failed prior replacements can find hope with custom-made, 3D-printed implants tailored to their anatomy.

"We have the technology and experience,” Dr. Keener says, “but most importantly, we have a commitment to doing what is best for each patient, and that is what drives all of this forward.”

Discover how this fusion of technology and expertise is helping patients regain stability, confidence, and move with ease: https://heyor.ca/PSZCeO

WashU Medicine Physicians