Patrons

Spring 2017

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PATRONS | Spring 2017 3 TORRANCE MEMORIAL IS FAMILY y history with Torrance Memorial dates back to when my mother and brother volunteered in the Auxiliary's Pet Visitation Program. My two sons, London and Jaden, were also born at Torrance Memorial. Flash forward to 2007. While my youngest son Jaden and I were surfing at Redondo Beach, Jaden had an accident. e surfboard severely cut the upper part of his leg. With my heart racing, I finally reached him in the water and applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. I then went to find a lifeguard to help. e ambulance arrived and took us to the Torrance Memorial Emergency Department. At that point we were uncertain whether his artery had been cut. Once at the hospital, we were relieved to learn the cut had just missed his artery. However his leg was going to need surgery. Dr. James Black, a plastic surgeon, performed the three-hour procedure. When it was over, he told us it required more than 300 stitches. Jaden stayed in the hospital for seven days and went home in a wheelchair. Weeks of physical therapy followed. He eventually moved to a walker, then to a crutch. Jaden was just 10 at the time. Today, because of the exceptional care he received at Torrance Memorial, my son is a healthy young man who enjoys life to the fullest. And he still surfs. During this nerve-racking experience, I met with Judy Gassner (now senior director of Development and Principal Gifts for the Torrance Memorial Foundation). Six months later, Judy approached me about serving on the Torrance Memorial Foundation board of directors. I couldn't think of a better way to give back to such a great hospital. is was also about the time my wife Ellen and I joined the Patrons program. Also impressed, my parents, brother and his family became Patrons. I have now served on the Foundation board for six years, where I have learned firsthand how generous community gifts have made possible the evolution of a small community hospital into an outstanding regional health system. Evidence of this can be seen in the Melanie and Richard Lundquist Patient Tower— a tremendous asset to the South Bay community. Its modern facilities have helped to attract doctors and nurses from top teaching hospitals, such as Keck School of Medicine of USC, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai. We can also offer advanced heart procedures, such as minimally invasive aortic valve replacement, performed in the state-of-the-art hybrid operating room, top-level stroke treatment through the Telestroke program, which expedites the lifesaving delivery of clot-busting drugs, and the latest tools for finding and destroying cancerous tumors through technology like the new Varian TrueBeam slim linear accelerator, now available at the Hunt Cancer Institute. rough serving on the Foundation board, and this year on the executive committee, I realize this fine medical institution also has some of the most giving employees, nurses and doctors who help support our community daily. I am continually proud and honored to be associated with such an amazing institution as Torrance Memorial. Pat eodora, Executive Committee Officer Torrance Memorial Foundation Board of Directors BOARD NOTES "Today, because of the exceptional care he received at Torrance Memorial, my son is a healthy young man who enjoys life to the fullest." M

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