Huron Regional Medical Center

+ + inthisissue + + A PUBLICATION FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT HURON REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER Summer • 2015 From the CEO: The Importance of Local Leadership 2 What to Do When Your Child Has a Fever 3 Dedicated to Diabetes Education 3 Elevating Emergency Care 4 Let's Talk About Health at the SD Women's Expo 5 Huron Regional Medical Center offers a full complement of women's health services – including gynecologic surgery – to enhance quality of life. Leslie Schock lived with pain, including painful periods, for years, experiencing chronic cramps and vomiting on a monthly basis. But the discomfort was something that the 29-year-old thought she simply had to endure – until she found solutions with the Women's Wellness Center. In 2014, Schock's cramps were so debilitating that she took a trip to the HRMC emergency room and was cared for by Sara Castellanos, DO, FACOOG, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologic surgeon. When Being a Woman Is Too Painful "That kind of pain was Leslie's body telling her something was not right," says Dr. Castellanos. "It's important to have things like that evaluated." After performing an exploratory laparoscopy, Dr. Castellanos found that Schock had a severe case of endometriosis, a condition in which the tissue that normally lines the inside of the uterus – called endometrium – grows outside the uterus. In Schock's case, the condition was also impacting her appendix. "During the laparoscopy, I noticed a line, or 'shelf' in the pelvis, which I had encountered during my training in Detroit," explains Dr. Castellanos. "One of the many surgeons who I had the opportunity to train with taught me that such 'pelvic shelves' were indicative of severe pelvic pain, such as caused by Leslie's endometriosis." "I was relieved that I finally knew what the problem was, and I was very drawn to Dr. Castellanos's whole-body approach to care," says Schock. "I liked the fact that, as a doctor of osteopathy, she didn't just look at my symptoms but also at me as a whole person. She was so thorough discussing every option to target the condition." After considering conservative solutions to address the endometriosis, Schock and Dr. Castellanos decided that a full hysterectomy and appendectomy would be the most effective option to target the problem. In December 2014, Dr. Castellanos performed the surgery to remove Schock's uterus and appendix. Today, Schock, who is the mother of four, is virtually pain-free and enjoying life to the fullest. "I am so thankful to have access to Dr. Castellanos right here in Huron," says Schock. continued on page 2 Dr. Castellanos and Schock visit about her endometriosis at a recent checkup.

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