She’s spent years focusing on therapy that supports personal healing. Now, Katarina Svabcikova is introducing these techniques to patients at IU Health Simon Cancer Center.

By IU Health Senior Journalist, TJ Banes, tfender1@iuhealth.org

She is no stranger to the hospital setting. Katarina Svabcikova supported a mindfulness intervention program to help nurses and physicians manage the stress related to COVID-19.

More recently, she joined IU Health’s Center for Mindful Practice as a Yoga Teacher and a Wellness Consultant focusing on how mindfulness practices help release stress and tension in the body.

When she had an opportunity to join IU Health Simon Cancer Center, she already knew the benefits of yoga as part of holistic healing. Svabcikova starts the New Year with a goal of showing patients the simplicity of breathing and the benefits of following well-crafted mindfulness practices.

Yoga is part of the CompleteLife Program of the Cancer Resource Center at IU Health Simon Cancer Center. Other therapies – including art, massage, and music – are offered as a way of attending to the mind, body, and spirit of patients. Support groups and other resources are also part of the Cancer Resource Center located on the first floor of Simon Cancer Center.

Svabcikova is originally from Slovakia and first came to the United States as part of a Master of Business Administration program. She returned later and has lived here for the past 16 years. She has practiced yoga for the past 10 years. She has been a guest teacher at various trainings, and was a co-leader of 2019 Monumental Yoga.

After experiencing a traumatic event in 2015, Svabcikova says yoga saved her life. “Through my own experience of trauma I have been led to passionately study the topic of healing, trauma, PTSD, vagus nerve regulation, neuroscience, as well as practices to deepen my trust, compassion, forgiveness, and grace as a way of healing myself,” she said.

“I have been fascinated by the healing journey involving the nervous system in general and I became absorbed in how we can combine yoga practice with science-based understanding of the body and mind to regulate the nervous system,” said Svabcikova. She also works with clients at the Indianapolis Trauma Therapy Center.

Teaching and guiding patients, she said is one of the most joyful activities of her life. “Through my teaching I encourage students to be the best versions of the themselves, because everything we need to know is already in us.”

With a focus on oncology patients, Svabcikova meets them where they are – whether they are resting in their bed or sitting in a chair. She gently coaches them through exercises that promote mindfulness. The practice is also beneficial to family members navigating a diagnosis of a loved one.

One family member recently expressed how she felt anxious knowing her loved one was about to be discharged. She worried if she could care for him. She had observed Svabcikova working with her loved one and she too began to practice the technique.

“A cancer diagnosis can take the cancer patient’s breath away and yoga can give it back,” said Svabcikova. “Treatments can be counterintuitive to mindfulness so I want to introduce them to a simple easy-to-follow practice. The breath is available to all of us – even if they are in fight or flight mode or freeze mode. Breath can soften the mind and give them a little reprieve from stress and fear.”

<p><strong><em>When Ali Liphard lost her newborn, the grief was overwhelming. Now, she is healing through the help of IU Health North’s bereavement coordinator.</em></strong><br></p>
<p><em>By Emma Avila, epackard1@iuhealth.org, writer for IU Health’s Indianapolis Suburban Region<br></em></p>
<p>Ali Liphard is preparing to bring new life into the world. She and her husband are expecting a baby girl in May. While they are excited to meet their child, Ali is still grieving the loss of her first daughter, Lily. </p>
<p>When Ali was pregnant last spring, she began feeling some discomfort around 21 weeks into the pregnancy. One night, while lying in bed, her water broke and she started having contractions. She went into pre-term labor at home. </p>
<p>“I never knew pre-term labor was a thing. I never knew this was something that happened,” she said. </p>
<p>By the time the ambulance arrived, Lily had already been born. </p>
<p>The two were rushed to IU Health North Hospital, but by that point, there was nothing anyone could do. Lily passed away that night, April 23, 2022. </p><figure><img src=”{asset:3088266:url||https://cdn.iuhealth.org/news-hub/Lily-Liphard.png}” data-image=”3088266″ style=”opacity: 1;”></figure>
<p>Sarah Wenzel, a registered nurse and the bereavement coordinator at IU Health North, happened to be working the night Ali and Lily were brought to the hospital. The Emergency department team alerted Wenzel. </p>
<p>For parents who lose a baby, Wenzel prepares a box for them to help remember their child. </p>
<p>“We work hard to provide our bereaved families with precious mementos. These include photos, foot and handprints, cards, forget-me-not seeds, hats, diapers and outfits that the baby wore, ornaments, bracelets, teddy bears, books, a lock of hair and molds of the hands and feet,” Wenzel said. </p>
<p>Ali and her husband had a hard time looking at some of the things inside the box at first, but now the mementos are part of their healing process. </p>
<p>“It’s the greatest thing for my family to look at,” Ali said. “Another big thing that Sarah does is she calls every couple of months to check in on me. That’s really helped, to know that someone is still caring about me. She’s always been there and knows the right things to ask.” </p><figure><img src=”{asset:3088267:url||https://cdn.iuhealth.org/news-hub/Sarah-Wenzel.png}” data-image=”3088267″ style=”opacity: 1;”><figcaption>Sarah Wenzel, registered nurse and bereavement coordinator at IU Health North Hospital</figcaption></figure>
<p>“Patients are able to choose if they would like me to follow up with them or not,” Wenzel explained. “One of the biggest things I hear from patients when I am following up with them is that they would like the opportunity to meet other families in similar situations.” </p>
<p>Wenzel provides this during a Burial of the Ashes ceremony that occurs annually in October for babies lost prior to 20 weeks into the pregnancy and those who did not have private funerals. However, she wanted to create an event for all the hospital’s bereaved families. Knowing that the holidays can be a tough time for these patients, she decided to create a holiday event. </p>
<p>“All of the bereaved families from the past year were invited and came together to create ornaments to honor their angel babies. We hung the ornaments on a tree in the lobby of IU Health North to remember our babies lost too soon,” Wenzel said. “Many of the patients who attended reported that they enjoyed just being in the presence of others who have gone through a similar experience, and it helped them to not feel so alone.” </p>
<p>Ali was one of those patients. </p>
<p>“The holiday event I went to with Sarah helped me work through a lot of emotions,” she said. “Seeing people have little ones there, decorating ornaments, they were openly talking about the child they lost. I thought that was really nice.” </p><figure><img src=”{asset:3088268:url||https://cdn.iuhealth.org/news-hub/Lily-Ornament.png}” data-image=”3088268″ style=”opacity: 1;”></figure>
<p>Wenzel also facilitates a bereavement support group through the hospital called Seasons. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the group met in person, but has since held meetings online. However, Wenzel is working to reformat the group’s structure to meet in person again. </p>
<p>“When the group is re-opened, information will be posted on IU Health North’s website regarding the meetings. There is a full list of all local bereavement support groups, included in a resource folder, given to patients who experience a loss here in the hospital,” Wenzel explained. </p>
<p>Ali has used some of the resources Wenzel provided and looks forward to meeting the Seasons support group in person in the future. </p>
<p>For now, she and her husband visit Lily at the cemetery while simultaneously preparing for their next child. She hopes sharing her story will help others learn that there are resources for parents who have gone through a similar experience to hers. </p>
<p>“If people feel ready and comfortable to share what happened, I feel like it helps others heal. Know that you’re not alone,” she said. </p>
<p>Wenzel agrees, but stresses that everyone’s journey is different. </p>
<p>“Understand that everyone grieves differently and that is okay. Tackle your own grief one day at a time and do what feels right to you in the moment.” </p>

There are some things that can only be learned over time and some memories that are preserved from one generation to the next. This is the story of one of those families.

By IU Health Senior Journalist, TJ Banes, tfender1@iuhealth.org

It was the year Ralph F. Gates was Governor of Indiana, Mauri Rose was the winner of the Indy 500, and MB “Pat” Flanigan began his career as an anesthesiologist with IU Health.

He received notice of his employment on a half sheet of paper that his daughter, Patti Medvescek has kept as a treasured keepsake. He was hired 1947 working six days a week 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. for $125 a week, said Medvescek. Flanigan’s sister, Marie Flanigan, worked as a clinical dietitian at Riley Hospital, and her husband, Ed Hawk worked as a fellow anesthesiologist.

Pat Flanigan met his wife, Margaret Gribben at Methodist Hospital (formerly Clairan Health) where she worked in the billing office. They were married in 1949. They went on to raise five children. Medvescek was the second born.

Medvescek relates how her father learned to knit to keep his fingers nimble when their first child was born. He gifted his wife with booties and a sweater for every child. Each grandchild thereafter wore the knitted wear home from the hospital.

Pat Flanigan studied in Bloomington and Indianapolis before coming to IU Health. He attended IU School of Medicine and started as an intern at Methodist Hospital in 1940. He eventually went into private practice primarily working at Methodist Hospital.

“I can remember him taking me on his Sunday rounds at the hospital. I would wait in the doctor’s dining room or the Beacon Room at Methodist,” said Medvescek. Pat Flanigan worked up until his death in 1981.

In 1969, Medvescek launched her own career with IU Health. After a couple of brief absences she kept coming back.

And it all started with her father. Some of Medvescek’s favorite memories are eating brownies from the hospital cafeteria, and watching her father at night working on his patient billings while she played with the “paid” stamp.

“As an anesthesiologist, he wanted to make sure his patients were ready for surgery and visited them the night before. He truly cared about every one of them,” said Medvescek.

“My senior year of high school I was headed to IU to study medical technology. My dad knew someone who worked in the blood bank so I started working weekends and holidays,” said Medvescek. “I did my clinical at Methodist and I loved it so much, when I graduated I stayed.” That part of her career spanned a time when all patients were tested for syphilis. She spent the first 20 years of her career in the lab, left in 1992, returned in 2005 and retired in 2020. “I was bored so I came back last year,” said Medvescek, who now works in guest services at IU Health West Hospital. Her new position allows her to interact directly with patients and visitors.

Medvescek met her former husband at IU Health and had two children – a daughter who worked as a nurse in the mother-baby unit at Methodist for a time, and a son who became a physical therapist.

Both of the children we born at Methodist Hospital; her daughter’s three boys were born at Methodist; and her son’s four children were born at IU Health North Hospital. At the age of 6, Medvescek became a patient at IU Health when she was treated for kidney disease and scarlet fever.

“I remember them painting a mural on the fifth floor of Methodist,” said Medvescek. “When I came to back to work at Methodist, I would walk the halls and see that mural and Methodist felt like home. When I retired in 2020, knowing that my family had been part of IU Health for more than 73 years, returning felt like a natural thing to do.”

This is an exciting week at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital as the labor & delivery team and the mother/baby team moved into their newly renovated unit that combines both specialties. “Both teams were on this floor before, but they were separated so we didn’t have the same nurses stations, the doctors were in one area or the other so our patients had to move a substantial amount to get to their new room,” said Nickella Reid, a mother/baby nurse.

Now the two nurses stations are together and the floor is one, continuous unit with expanded room sizes and more modern amenities for moms, babies and families.

Bien Urtesuela is an emergency department nurse at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital. He’s originally from the Philippines and comes to Ball with a world of experience. “I took the NCLEX in the Philippines in 2009, but at that time there weren’t many opportunities for me to come to the U.S. so while processing my papers I worked in the middle east… where I I met my wife. We moved to Dublin, Ireland, and then when we were in Dublin we got our papers ready and came to the U.S.”

Feeding tubes. Anyone who has trouble swallowing or cannot eat or drink enough through the mouth may need a feeding tube. Perhaps it is a child with a developmental disability. A patient with head or neck cancer. Feeding tubes can seem overwhelming for the caregiver.

Registered Dietitian, Kara Booth, understands feeling overwhelmed. She learned about feeding tubes while earning her degree. Last year, her son was placed on a feeding tube.

“You gain priceless information you otherwise would not know,” shares Booth.

Her son Preston is seven years old. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of one. He has oral dysphagia—or trouble chewing. He was on a puree diet. Last year he had aspiration pneumonia and was switched to a feeding tube.

“I miss the joy of eating for him,” shares Booth. “He loves Reese Cups. But now I know exactly what he eats and what he needs.”

Booth’s personal journey has improved her ability to care for patients who need feeding tubes, whether due to cancer treatment or children with disabilities.

“I have learned handy little tricks, especially with taking pills,” shares Booth. “I thought I knew a lot about feeding tubes, but I am continuously learning new tricks.”

Every feeding tube is different, just like every patient is different. Booth is committed to helping all her patients find the right nutritional balance for their situation—even the pickiest of little eaters.

Listen to Booth share her experiences working with her son Preston’s feeding tube and her other son who is a picky eater.

<p><em><strong>They aren’t related by blood but they were a great match for a gift of life.</strong></em><br></p>
<p><em>By IU Health Senior Journalist, TJ Banes, </em><a href=”mailto:tfender1@iuhealth.org”>tfender1@iuhealth.org</a></p>
<p>In fourth grade, LoriAnne Boone was assigned a leaf project. It was her Aunt Peggy Burress who helped her identify the trees. “Aunt Peggy” knew every single tree, Boone remembers.</p>
<p>Fast forward to when Boone got married, her Aunt’s love of nature was showcased in Boone’s wedding flowers. The aunt and niece have always had a special bond. Now it’s even stronger as they are an organ donor and recipient. </p>
<p>Two years ago, Burress was diagnosed with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AAT). The condition prevents the body from producing ample amounts of AAT, a protein that protects the lungs and liver from damage. </p>
<p>When Boone learned of her aunt’s condition, she cried. </p>
<p>“I remember I was in my parent’s kitchen when I learned she needed a transplant. I’m a medical wimp. I give blood because I’m 0 positive and I know it’s needed but I dread it. I look forward to the snack at the end,” said Boone, 41. But when her Aunt needed a new liver, Boone didn’t hesitate. “I said, ‘I’ll do it.’” </p>
<p>In July 2020 IU Health restarted the living liver transplantation program. Since then, the transplant team has performed more than 20 living donor transplants. </p>
<p>Liver transplantation involves replacing the diseased liver with a healthy, donated liver from another person. The liver that is transplanted can come from a person who has died (a deceased donor), or it can come from a person who wishes to donate while alive (a living donor). </p>
<p>In general, living donors must be healthy, in good physical and mental health, and between 18-55 years of age. They undergo a complete medical and psychosocial evaluation supported by an IU Health transplant team including a living donor advocate, hepatologist, surgeon, psychologist or psychiatrist, social worker, and registered dietitian. </p>
<p>Liver donors may be a blood relative or may be non-related donors.</p>
<p>After saying the words: “I’ll do it,” Boone underwent testing at IU Health and learned she was a good match, based on her overall health and size of her liver. </p>
<p>Her relationship to Burress is through her father. Burress’ husband and Boone’s father are brothers. There was little chance of Boone being a carrier of the disease that took the life of Burress’ brother. </p>
<p>On May 3, 2022, the aunt and niece were in the care of IU Health surgeons – Dr. Chandrashekhar Kubal and Dr. Marco Lacerda when Burress received her transplant.</p>
<p>“The whole team was great. I’d say my worst days were getting infusions twice a day for a lung infection. Those were dark days. I couldn’t get a liver transplant until they cleared my lungs,” said Burress, who was undergoing paracentesis weekly to drain fluids that caused bloating.</p>
<p>“I worried about LoriAnn because I didn’t want her to go through the pain and have a big scar,” said Burress.</p>
<p>But Boone, who is typically nervous about medical matters, only thought about the Aunt she loved. </p>
<p>“We lived just 10-15 minutes away from each other and growing up she was the Aunt I stayed with when my younger brother was born. I’d go to lunch with her and my Uncle Jim and my dad,” said Boone. “I can remember sitting around my grandparents tiny dining room table and we’d have loud and boisterous conversations. We were all together and we were close,” said Boone, who has been married to her husband, Jon, for 18 years, and is the mother of three children. Burress has been married to her husband John, for 51 years and has two sons and one grandson. </p>
<p>“I wanted to keep those memories alive,” said Boone. “And I wanted to make more for years to come.” </p>

For doctors at Riley Hospital for Children’s Fetal Care Center, patient and family education is a top priority. They recently collaborated with IU Health’s 3D innovations lab to create a virtual model that will help families better understand the difficult diagnosis of congenital diaphragmatic hernia. “We worked with the artists here with lots of different ideas. We went back and forth… so that we could make it look as realistic as possible,” said Dr David Gray, a Riley Children’s health pediatric surgeon. “It’s really invaluable to be able to use the technology that’s all around us to be able to specifically design something that allows us to completely tailor it… so we can help these families better understand what’s going on.”

Thanks to a team of astute professionals, patients at IU Health Coleman Center for Women receive a little something extra during their OB/GYN visits.

By IU Health Senior Journalist, TJ Banes, tfender1@iuhealth.org

It started with a single patient. She was pregnant and scheduled for a stress test. That single encounter opened eyes, ears, and hearts.

A stress test measures the fetal heart rate. It’s a test that makes sure the fetus is able to handle contractions during labor and has the right amount of oxygen. The best way to appropriately get that information is to have mom fully hydrated and nourished.

“This particular patient came in and we learned that she hadn’t eaten that day or even the day before,” said Dana Anderson, a Charge Nurse at Coleman Center for Women located at IU Health University Hospital. Patients come to Coleman for obstetrics, gynecology – including surgery and gender care – and also midwife appointments. In all, there are six nurses including a manager, charge nurse, and nurse navigator, and ten medical assistants.

“Our team members are very caring and always making sure patients’ needs are met,” said Anderson, who has been with Coleman for more than a year. In no time, team members began collecting gift cards to give to patients who came in with food insecurities. From there, the efforts grew. Now, the Coleman Center for Women maintains a food pantry. When patients come in showing signs of hunger, they are asked if they would like some food. Non-perishable items are then discreetly bagged for them to take home.

“The needs come in spurts. Sometimes we may go a month without anyone needing anything and then recently we had two different patients in a week who needed food, and two staff members who had house fires within 24 hours,” said Anderson. Team members also pulled resources to help the two staff members. Their storage space is limited but Anderson said they welcome donations of hygiene products, canned goods, and other non-perishable items.

But that’s not all – Coleman Center recently added another layer of patient assistance. They began offering Integrated Social Work and Integrated Behavioral Health.

“We have social work needs daily – whether it’s food, a bus pass, or other lifestyle challenges,” said Anderson. On the first day Coleman offered social work assistance a patient was identified as a victim of domestic violence.

The assistance is designed with the convenience, compassion, and confidentiality of the patient in mind.

“We do ask questions, but our staff members are very good at observations and they care enough to pay close attention to subtle things – like if a patient says she lives in a shelter, or doesn’t have transportation home,” aid Anderson.

If a patient expresses interest in receiving social services, a cart is wheeled into the room and they are connected with a specialist via video chat. The chat can last up to 40 minutes or longer, if necessary – similar to an in-person appointment. From there, the patient is connected with specialty services and can repeat the provider visits as often as necessary.

“I have always loved women’s health and this shows what a team that cares about patients can do,” said Anderson. “We serve a diverse patient population. We’ve tracked the social needs over a period of time, so we knew that these needs were not being met and now we can really make a difference.”

<p><em><strong>It’s been 10 months since Roxanne Johnson-Yates received a second kidney transplant. Now she looks back at a life that was uncertain at times.</strong></em><br></p>
<p><em>By IU Health Senior Journalist, TJ Banes, </em><a href=”mailto:tfender1@iuhealth.org”><em>tfender1@iuhealth.org</em></a></p>
<p>As she talks, Roxanne Johnson-Yates, busies herself in the kitchen preparing what she calls “a simple meal.” Whether she’s cooking a spaghetti dinner or zip-lining through the trees, Yates embraces the big and little things in life. </p>
<p>She doesn’t take anything for granted. This is a woman who has undergone not one, but two lifesaving kidney transplants at IU Health. </p>
<p>The first transplant was Aug. 6, 2010. Her donor was a woman – straight out of college who would later become her daughter-in-law. The second was on March 23, 2022. </p>
<p>A mother to one daughter and two sons, Yates initially went to the ER with symptoms of a strep throat. A urine test revealed high levels of protein and she was eventually diagnosed with glomerulosclerosis, a scarring of the filtering part of the kidneys. She was on dialysis for 10 years before receiving a transplant. At one point, her body began rejecting her new kidney and she was hospitalized for six weeks. When that kidney began functioning, she lived a healthy life for 11 years. </p>
<p>“It was a blessing because I got to see not one, but two of my grandkids born and my one daughter married. I told the kids I would not go back on dialysis, but my daughter reminded me of all that I got to experience,” said Yates. This time she was on dialysis a year when she ended up in ER. </p>
<p>“I had chest pain and my creatinine level was above seven. It was like the bottom fell out,” said Yates, who for the second time was in the hands of IU Health <a href=”https://iuhealth.org/find-providers/provider/william-c-goggins-md-6322″>Dr. William Goggins</a>. “He said by the end of summer I would need to be transplanted. This was March and I got the call a week later.” </p>
<p>A lifelong resident of Indianapolis, Yates graduated from Crispus Attucks High School. At the age of 16, she was expecting her first child. She went on to her bachelor’s degree in sociology in 2008. By 2012, with her children grown Yates went through a divorce. Three years later, she earned her master’s degree in applied science. She spent her career working in social services and now works as a family and engagement specialist for Indianapolis Public Schools. </p>
<figure><img src=”{asset:3074567:url||https://cdn.iuhealth.org/news-hub/yatesweb2.jpg}” data-image=”3074567″ style=”opacity: 1;”></figure>
<p>It was during her master’s degree ceremony that she reconnected with a grade school friend, Michael Johnson. “He was getting his bachelor’s degree and jumped in line with me. We sat together and talked through the entire ceremony. We’ve been together ever since.” </p>
<p>“I’ve learned to not leave any stone unturned. I feel better and I need to live life to the fullest,” said Yates, who is a self-proclaimed “dare devil.” She and Johnson have gone zip-lining and are planning to go sky diving. She also enjoys attending Cathedral High School basketball games where her son is a coach and her grandson plays on the team. </p>
<figure><img src=”{asset:3074568:url||https://cdn.iuhealth.org/news-hub/yatesweb3.jpg}” data-image=”3074568″></figure>
<p>“We call ourselves ‘family strong’ because we are where we are because we’ve done it together. We take vacations together, plan family game night once a month and we never miss a holiday.”</p>