News

On April 22, 2023, Blaine Perkins was excited to be in Alabama for another 300-mile race at the Talladega Superspeedway. Once on the track, the green flag waved signifying the start of the race he would never forget.

In honor of Trauma Awareness Month in May, the UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery is hosting its first-ever Heroes and Healers Gala, on Friday, May 3, at 6:30 p.m.

Damion Jones, 31, was at work when he felt the pain in his stomach. He knew that something wasn’t right, but neither he nor his employer’s onsite clinic could pinpoint what was wrong. Next came shortness of breath. “I couldn’t walk up the hill at work without getting winded,” Jones said. “And I couldn’t get rid of my cough.” So began the odyssey that eventually brought Jones to UAB’s Comprehensive Transplant Institute (CTI).

Christina Humphrey, LMSW, a UAB social worker who serves gynecologic oncology patients, has been named a Legacy of Laura Healthcare Hero for 2024. This award is presented annually by the Laura Crandall Brown Foundation to a health care professional who fosters hope, compassion, positivity, and strength among patients with gynecologic cancer and survivors.

DeAnthonis Kelly’s world started to unravel when he came down with pneumonia in 2019 and got worse when he caught COVID-19 in 2020. Even after he recovered, Kelly found himself out of breath when he walked from the parking lot to his workstation at a steel plant.

Through a series of events and promotions each April, Legacy of Hope recognizes National Donate Life Month (NDLM). The observation was established by Donate Life America to raise awareness about organ donation and share the perspectives of individuals and families touched by donation and transplantation.

About 1 in 5 women worldwide experiences infertility, and it can have a major emotional impact on both individuals and couples. Beyond the medical and physical issues, it is a difficult and deeply personal journey that can lead to stress, anxiety, depression, and other emotional effects. Below, the UAB Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility shares tips for coping with the challenges of infertility or supporting someone who is going through it.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, accounting for about one in every five deaths. Over 60 million women in the United States are living with heart disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In an effort to curb heart disease and stroke rates, cardiologists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Cardiovascular Institute have relaunched the Women’s Heart Health Program.

Alan Mayes, RN, a post-kidney transplant coordinator with the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute, retired in January 2024. During his long career, Mayes played a role in advances at UAB Medicine generally and in transplant medicine specifically. His supervisors and colleagues say he’ll be hard to replace.

Mary Beth Helms Templin had a lifetime of challenges with her lungs, starting with being diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at just three months old. Those challenges paled in comparison to Templin’s experience as a young adult, which ultimately led her to the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute to receive a double lung transplant.

Electrophysiologists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Cardiovascular Institute are among the first in the nation to use pulsed-field ablation to treat atrial fibrillation. According to Tom McElderry, M.D., an associate professor of medicine in the UAB Division of Cardiovascular Disease, this novel therapy uses fast, high-energy electrical pulses to ablate pulmonary veins and atrial tissue safely and effectively.

The question “What is endometriosis?” is searched online millions of times each year. The condition affects an estimated 190 million women worldwide, yet many have not heard of it. Richard Burney, M.D., director of UAB Medicine’s Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, shares information on endometriosis, including the causes, symptoms, and treatment options.