Rare infection, quick diagnosis
Teen survives flesh-eating bacteria
The infection that nearly took 17-year-old Brady Johnson's life began simply: a bloodless finger prick while opening a caulking tube with a utility knife. It happened last August while Brady was helping out on a landscaping project at work. "When I came home from work that day, the poke to my finger was just tiny. When I woke up the next morning, I was pale — greenish actually. My eyes quit focusing and I was really dizzy. And my hand — in 14 hours it had swelled to three times its normal size," recalls Brady. His dad, Mark, drove Brady from their home in Moorhead to MeritCare Walk-In Clinic in Fargo.
"Within 60 seconds of looking at him, Dr. Magura knew exactly what it was: necrotizing fasciitis — flesh-eating bacteria," says Mark.
Read more about Brady
Never giving up
The story of a champion
Vicki carried Tanya to the car, then headed to MeritCare Children's Southwest clinic in Fargo. "I walked in carrying this limp child, and the staff recognized immediately it was serious.
Early detection gets baby on track
For Camille Brown, the first clue something was wrong came in mid-February, when Seth's two-month checkup revealed a slight lapse in his growth.
Teaming up to save a friend
Chuck Wendel considers himself lucky. On the evening of Jan. 25, while playing his regular Wednesday evening basketball game with friends at the high school in Valley City, N.D., he collapsed, unconscious.
LifeVest™ gives S.D. man the gift of home
When Steve and Rita Kurkowski first heard about a vest that could save Steve's life in the event his heart stopped — a vest that would allow him to leave the hospital and go home to Waubay, S.D., for Christmas — they imagined something cumbersome.
Helping families grow since 1994
For a visual depiction of how long MeritCare has offered reproductive medicine services, Dr. Steffen Christensen, reproductive endocrinologist, board-certified in OB/GYN, need only drive 30 miles northwest to Ada, Minn.
Maximum relief for varicose veins
If you are one of the 40 million Americans living with varicose veins, you know the frustration. More than just unsightly, they can become painful, causing achiness, burning, itching, throbbing, fatigue and swelling in the legs.