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Hear what your friends and neighbors say about the lifesaving and life-changing care they received at EvergreenHealth in Kirkland, WA.

Patient Stories


Chances are good that a friend or family member - maybe even yourself - has received care at EvergreenHealth. 

Here are stories of just a few of the patients we've helped. Click on their names to read their stories.

Image of Blake Albertson and familhy, a patient at EvergreenHealth Neuroscience, Spine & Orthopedic Institute in Kirkland, WA

Blake Albertson

(complex brain tumor)  When an abnormal tumor threatened a family’s future, they turned to EvergreenHealth’s comprehensive neurosurgical program to beat the odds.

Image of Eric Taylor, whose lung cancer was successfully treated at the Halvorson Cancer Center, located at EvergreenHealth near Seattle in Kirkland, WA.

Eric Taylor, MD

(lung cancer) With support from his family, friends and care team, Dr. Eric Taylor conquered lung cancer by relying on expert care and navigation and the power of ‘present’ thinking.

Image of Carla Steward, breast cancer survivor who was treated at EvergreenHealth near Seattle in Kirkland, WA.

Carla Stewart

(breast cancer) A marathon runner, Carla Stewart used her training mentality to help push through the weeks of treatments.

Click to read the story of patient Cristian Palacay, whose rotator cuff was repaired with surgery at EvergreenHealth Orthopedic & Sports Care near Seattle in Kirkland, WA

Christian Palacay

(torn rotator cuff)  When some nagging discomfort around his left rotator cuff began to feel more pronounced over time, Christian Palacay took careful notice.

Image of Debbie Casteel, a multiple sclerosis patient using art therapy as part of her treatment at EvergreenHealth MS Center near Seattle in Kirkland, WA.

Debbie Casteel

(multiple sclerosis) Debbie Casteel was just 26 years old she was diagnosed with MS. Over time, she stopped practicing her favorite hobby, painting, due to her unsteady movements and lack of energy.

image of Ted Sturlaugson, cardiac care patient at EvergreenHealth cardiac care in Kirkland, WA

Ted Sturlaugson

(heart attack) You’ll forgive Ted Sturlaugson if he’s a little fuzzy on the details. By the time he got to EvergreenHealth’s Emergency Department, he was unconscious and medics had already restarted his heart five times.

Image of George Greenhalgh, a patient at the Primary Stroke Center at EvergreenHealth in Kirkland, WA

George Greenhalgh

(stroke)  When medics rushed 59-year-old George Greenhalgh into the Emergency Department at EvergreenHealth, his speech was slurred, he had numbness on his right side, and he was unable to recognize his family - all classic symptoms of a stroke.

Image of Darrell Blankenship, whose prostate cancer was successfully treated with da vinci robotic surgery at the Halvorson Cancer Center, located at EvergreenHealth near Seattle in Kirkland, WA.

Darrell Blankenship

(prostate cancer) Darrell Blankenship turned 50, and added a prostate exam to his annual medical tests. The test revealed prostate cancer, and he had a choice to make about how to best treat it.

Image of OB/GYN patient Kelly McClure, whose tumor and high risk pregnancy were cared for at EvergreenHealth Maternity Care near Seattle in Kirkland, WA.

Kelly McClure

(high-risk pregnancy) Sometimes it takes an entire hospital to save a mother and her baby.

In Kelly McClure’s case, it took EvergreenHealth specialists from maternal-fetal medicine, oncology, endocrinology, hematology and cardiology to solve her medical mystery.

Image of OB/GYN patient Kristin Olson, who found the childbirth options she wanted at EvergreenHealth Maternity Care near Seattle in Kirkland, WA.

Kristin Olson

(childbirth) Kristin Olson knew exactly what she wanted for her childbirth experience, and she appreciated the options and the flexibility offered by EvergreenHealth's Family Maternity Center for the birth of her first child.

Image of OB/GYN patient Melody McMillan, whose high risk pregnancy with amniotic fluid leakage was treated at EvergreenHealth Maternity Care near Seattle in Kirkland, WA.

Melody McMillan

(high-risk pregnancy) Melody McMillan was 23 weeks into her pregnancy and beginning to set up the baby’s nursery. Then her plans were turned upside down when she began leaking amniotic fluid and was instead plunged into a world of doctors and tests.

She finished her pregnancy on bed rest at EvergreenHealth's antepartum care unit.

image of Geoff Gregorich, cardiac care patient at EvergreenHealth cardiac care in Kirkland, WA

Geoff Gregorich

(atrial myxoma) In less than a week, Geoff Gregorich went from his annual physical to open heart surgery for a dangerous heart tumor.

image of Jim Maguire, cardiac care patient at EvergreenHealth cardiac care in Kirkland, WA

Jim Maguire

(heart attack) Not only is Jim Maguire still walking around, he’s back at his construction job – just a couple of months after a massive heart attack. It was a heart attack he didn’t realize he was having until it was almost too late.

image of Alexis Day, cardiac care patient at EvergreenHealth cardiac care in Kirkland, WA

Alexis Day

(heart tumor) When Alexis Day came to EvergreenHealth’s Emergency Department with severe abdominal pain, it took detective work worthy of an episode of CSI to figure out what was causing the problem.

Image of Richard Montenegro, a patient at the Primary Stroke Center at EvergreenHealth in Kirkland, WA

Richard Montenegro

(stroke)  Forty-seven-year-old Richard Montenegro’s life changed in the blink of an eye. A brain hemorrhage felled him as he was leaving work last March, and put him in a coma for two days. It left Montenegro in a wheelchair and unable to walk, speak or use his right arm.

Image of Les Tiffany, a patient whose prostate cancer was treated with diVinci surgery at EvergreenHealth in Kirkland, WA

Les Tiffany

(gallstones)  Les Tiffany had been dealing with the occasional abdominal pain for three to four years, but it wasn’t until an acute attack that he went to his primary care provider for answers. An ultrasound revealed gallstones.