22-year-old Jonathan Avalos is a patient on hospice at Methodist Hospital. He’s also a student at Purdue University. He and his friends have been enjoying watching the Purdue men’s basketball team make a deep run in this year’s NCAA tournament. When the team made the Final Four, Jonathan’s nurses planned a watch party for him and his loved ones. On Saturday evening they watched Purdue march to victory while sharing stories and eating delicious food catered by St. Elmo Steak House. “It means a lot seeing his family and everyone here being here for him,” said Alexa Gomez, one of Jonathan’s life-long friends. “It means a lot for me to see that he knows that there are people here for him… everyone’s here for him.”

By Emma Avila, epackard1@iuhealth.org, writer for IU Health’s Indianapolis Suburban Region

Cynthia Schafer, a Labor and Delivery nurse at IU Health North, created special hats to gift to babies born the same day as the solar eclipse.

When Felisha Canillas and her husband Nate found out her due date was April 8, they didn’t immediately realize it was the same day as the upcoming solar eclipse.

“People started telling us, and we liked the significance of the date,” Felisha says.

The couple came to IU Health North early that morning for Felisha to be induced, equipped with a moon outfit to match the theme. What they didn’t know is that they would also receive a special gift from one of the hospital’s team members.

Rowan Canillas was born a few minutes after Felisha’s induction in a quick and easy delivery. He weighs 7 pounds and measure 19.25 inches long.

After the delivery, the Labor and Delivery team presented the couple with a special eclipse hat, crafted by one of the nurses on the unit for babies born the same day as the solar eclipse.

Cynthia Schafer creates hats for babies born on all the major holidays throughout the year. When she heard about the eclipse, she decided to create hats for the big event as well.

“It is a once in a lifetime event so we thought it would be nice to make it special,” she says.

Felisha and Nate were surprised and touched by the gesture.

“I just love that it’s a little moon and sun,” Felisha says. “I think it’s very sweet she does that. That’s a very kind, loving heart.”

Now, the Canillas family is looking forward to introducing Rowan to his big brother and sister, ages six and four. The siblings are planning on bringing him a stuffed moon toy to match the theme of his birthday.

Ben Withers is a nurse on Methodist Hospital’s cardiac medical critical care unit. He cares for some of the sickest patients in Indiana. He’s also part of the hospital system’s nursing professional governance team that works to improve nursing and patient care in our hospitals. “I just love the nurses that I work with. They are so passionate and, especially at the level of care that we are, we have to be on our game and I just love being able to trust my coworkers that they have the knowledge and the desire and the work ethic and the team work to not let me drown when things are getting rough. I would go to bat for these people any day.”

Pamela Bryant was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. Fifteen years after her treatment, a routine examination found she had it again.

A double mastectomy removed the cancer, but there were complications with her attempted reconstruction. That’s when plastic surgeon Elizabeth Lucich, MD, came to her aid.

“Part of the reason I became a physician is to take care of patients like Pamela who have some sort of surgical issue they need to take care of in order to move on with their life and to get back to normal,” says Lucich, who works in Bloomington.

“It’s been a long journey, but one that’s so well worth it,” says Bryant. “To find a doctor who understands and has the compassion that Doctor Lucich has—I’d wish that for everyone.”

Chest congestion, getting winded on walks and poor sleep—Darcy (Dorothy) Gustavsson thought it was a cold that would eventually go away. And the slight swelling in her ankles was nothing a bit of rest couldn’t fix.

In December 2022, her symptoms got worse. She assumed she’d developed pneumonia, so she went to her primary care provider in Nashville.

“He did an EKG in the office and sent me straight to the IU Health Bloomington Emergency department by ambulance,” she says. The diagnosis was severe heart failure caused by irregular heartbeat, or atrial fibrillation (AFib).

At the Emergency department, she met cardiologist Andrew Ferguson, MD, who explained she had an electrical issue, not a plumbing one.

With a heart catheter placed by vascular surgeon David Peterson, MD, Gustavsson was ready to leave the hospital and continue her care with John Strobel, MD, a cardiologist and clinical cardiac electrophysiologist.

In other words, Strobel (pictured above and to the far right with Gustavsson and her husband) became her heart electrician.

“I saw the team on a near-weekly basis,” she says, explaining how they used medications for a short-term solution leading up to an ablation at the end of March 2023. And while she’s still on a few drugs, she feels almost 100% better than she did when this journey began.

“The people on the cardiac team are great, and it was very comforting to know I had access to them, even if it was just to ask questions,” she explains. “I’ve had some intermittent relapses, but I have a drug protocol when that happens.”

Gustavsson is just happy to enjoy everyday life, including hiking in Brown County, traveling with her husband and visiting their daughter. The retired professor even celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary with a cruise with all their children.

For her, the moral of the story is to pay more attention to your body and talk with your doctor when something is off. Yes, it could be a cold, or you could be overlooking signs of more severe health concerns.

Riley Children’s Health now has a pediatric primary care office in Fishers, located on Allisonville Rd, just south of 116th St.

Dr. Thomas Freije and Dr. Kristen Anderson, Riley Children’s pediatricians, are seeing patients in the new space. They will provide routine primary care—for well-child visits, sick visits, immunizations, sports physicals and everything in between. Two more pediatricians are expected to join the office later this year.

The team held a ribbon cutting to celebrate the April 1 opening.

“Ensuring that all children have access to excellent care has always been the mission of Riley, and that starts with state-of-the-art primary care,” said Dr. Elaine Cox, chief physician executive for Riley Children’s Health. “We are excited to expand our services for Fishers families.”

This is the first Riley Children’s pediatric primary care office in Fishers, building upon the commitment to the community since Riley specialists began seeing patients at IU Health Saxony Hospital – soon to be IU Health Fishers. Additionally, as part of IU Health’s Fishers Community Impact Project, construction is also underway to build a Riley Children’s pediatric emergency department on the hospital campus. The pediatric emergency department will open in 2025 and will be staffed 24/7 by Riley emergency medicine physicians and nurses.

Riley Pediatric Primary Care in Fishers is located at 11530 Allisonville Rd, Suite 190. The office provides convenient 24/7 online scheduling, virtual visits, same-day and next-day appointments, extended hours on select weekdays and appointments on varying Saturdays. To schedule an appointment, call 463.251.3937.

In 1974, Patti Jordan, who worked in the pathology department at IU Health, got her twin sister Paula a job at the same place. Now, five decades later, their team is throwing them a joint-retirement party. “We’re excited, but it’s also sort of sad,” Paula reflects. “We’ve been here 50 years and now it’s time to start a new chapter.”

April is “Occupational Therapy Month” and one IU Health practitioner shares her unique personal and professional interests.

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

As she recently worked with a patient that she had seen many times, Mamta Barmeda spoke about the patient’s progress. She wrapped his hand in a heated blanket to improve blood circulation and then worked the tissues in his hand.

“The tissue talks to you. The hand muscles communicate. When they get unhappy it’s like they are laying on plate all convoluted like a heap of spaghetti,” Barmeda explained. With specially designed instruments, she used Astym treatment to stimulate tissue growth, and then began dry needling to target areas that contribute to the patient’s pain.

Barmeda was born and raised in Thane, India in the western India state of Maharashtra. She moved to Indiana at the age of 18 where she attended Indiana University and enrolled in business classes. It was by chance that she changed her area of concentration to occupational therapy.

“I went to a meeting for free pizza. It was for allied health students and they were electing officers for the organization. I ran for office, spoke my heart out, was elected to office and changed my major,” said Barmeda. “I looked at the different options and decided occupational health was the best match for me because it focused on holistic treatment of the mind, body, and soul.” She worked hard to obtain her degree and graduated with honors.

In her first jobs she was drawn to the patients’ hands. She went on to gain certification in hand therapy and is the only IU Health occupational therapist certified in dry needling. Specifically, dry needling is a type of therapy used to treat musculoskeletal and neuromuscular conditions. It involves inserting a tiny, sterile needle into tissues with the intent of reducing pain and increasing circulation. Electrical stimulation may be added to intensify the treatment.

“It feels like a strange little muscle spasm,” said a patient who was receiving the treatment. He added that before he started hand therapy he was unable to put toothpaste on his toothbrush, apply deodorant, or remove a cap from a water bottle. After a year of hand therapy, he is seeing great improvements.

Barmeda decided to become certified in dry needling after she experienced the intense and ongoing neurology pain from shingles. “I had dry needling done once and it relieved he pain and it hasn’t come back. I became a firm believer in the benefits and wanted to help others,” said Barmeda.

Barmeda’s specialization of hand therapy has her seeing a different patient every 45 minutes.

She enjoys the rapport she establishes with her patients and personalizes each need. One patient needed a splint for her hand to rest. After leaving with the splint, the patient reported that the way the splint was configured made it difficult for her husband to sleep because he always held her hand. When Barmeda learned this detail, she modified the splint to be fabricated in a position that opened up the patient’s palms and fingers.

“The best part of my job is treating each patient as if they are my only patient,” said Barmeda., who is married and the mother of two boys.

When she’s not working, Barmeda is often seen walking the runway. She models for New York, and LA Fashion Week and has won three titles in the USA pageant world, including “Mrs. Bharat Elite Indiana 2023.” She was also named second runner-up in the “Mrs. Universe USA 2024” pageant. For the “prop” segment of the competition Barmeda designed a costume based on her personal story of being raised in a male-dominated society where she experienced discrimination. The words on her costume illustrated her journey of being “strong,” “bold,” “independent,” “resilient,” and “empowering.”

Barmeda has encouraged other women by sharing her message and was a featured speaker in March at the International Marketplace Coalition’s International Women’s Gathering.

“It’s important to me to help boost the confidence of others and empower them to do what they love,” said Barmeda.

A recent stroke study revealed young black women with high blood pressure carry a much higher stroke risk than white women or people of other demographics. Tamara Marakey is still battling deficits from a stroke she had 5 years ago. “Here I am at 50 finally thinking about future me. If I would have thought about my health more when I was in my 30s, maybe I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in now. Young men and women, black, latino, white, it doesn’t make a difference, think about future you.”

Chris Perrott says he’s a walking miracle. On April 18, 2023, he didn’t know if he’d walk out of IU Health Methodist Hospital ER.

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

As he recently sat through an occupational therapy session, Chris Perrott shared the accident that brought him to IU Health. He also shared the progress that he never thought possible.

Perrott, 41, was 25 feet up a ladder, working on a dryer vent outside his Greenwood home when he lost his balance and fell to the ground. The father of two, was rescued by neighbors and transported by ambulance to IU Health Methodist Hospital. He remained hospitalized for eight days and was out of work in software sales for 10 weeks.

The injuries of that April 18, 2023 tragic accident included a broken back, ribs, and heavily fractured left wrist.

“I am very fortunate. When I was in ER the doctors and nurses said I could have been paralyzed or even dead. The good Lord was looking out for me,” said Perrott. He credits IU Health’s Dr. Jesse Savage for completing a spinal fusion that included placing two rods and screws in his back, and Dr. Anthony Archual for a successful hand surgery. Since May of 2023, he Perrott has been working with IU Health Occupational Therapist, Mamta Barmeda, who is certified in hand therapy and dry needling.

During a recent therapy session, Barmeda used Astym treatment to stimulate tissue growth, specifically with scar tissue in Perrott’s hand.

“When I first came out of the cast, she wanted me to try to touch all of my fingers with my thumb. I couldn’t do it,” said Perrott, demonstrating the progress. “We focus on specific areas each time. They’ve taught me the difference between a great recovery and a mediocre recovery. I am given exercises and I’m sticking with it,” said Perrott.

As he recovers, Perrott looks forward to coaching his kids’ sports and attending their activities.

“I’m now able to start jogging, and golfing is next. Every day is something new. Even walking up steps was a big thing. Cutting my meat with two hands was not a thing at all. The basics we take for granted were things I couldn’t do – playing catch, hitting baseballs and softballs and running up and down the basketball court – I just couldn’t do,” said Perrott.

“I am relieved and pleasantly surprised by the care I have received through IU Health,” he said. “You don’t know what you don’t know until you go through something like this. I’ve faced each day with the attitude of ‘what can I do next?’ and I appreciate all the guidance from the surgeons and therapists to keep me moving ahead.”