Minnesota

Judy Ethen lost her father and brother to pancreatic cancer. Her own case was diagnosed and treated early through Mayo Clinic’s High-Risk Pancreas Clinic, made possible by a generous gift of $22.1 million.

Gary Pies, D.D.S., says the three best things to happen in his life were meeting his wife, serving in Vietnam and going to Mayo Clinic for training as a fellow. In his wife's memory, Dr. Pies has established the Marcia S. Pies Fund in Breast Cancer Research and a $2 million charitable remainder trust.

In an old family farmhouse outside small Delavan, Minnesota, Mike Hoffman is getting to know his mom a bit better. She died nearly 40 years ago, but through a stack of yellowed letters, Mike and his wife, Tami, are delving into a part of her life that they didn't previously know much about -- her life built upon her nursing studies at Mayo Clinic.

John Berry’s family made the world accessible at one’s fingertips — his grandfather launched a telephone directory publishing business in Dayton, Ohio, that brought the yellow pages to people all over the globe. And when the Berry family needed answers for a medical need, they knew who to call. For three generations, Mayo Clinic has provided serious and complex care to the Berrys.

"To say the level of care at Mayo is unique is an understatement, and it is something I have not experienced anywhere else. When one hears that the patient comes first at Mayo, it is true. I have no words to thank Mayo Clinic. Mayo has given me the gift of extending my life. I am grateful that I can give back and know that in some way I am helping to make a difference.”

Dick Buell’s goal is simple and selfless: “To help as many people as I can.”

A first responder pronounced Maurice Orange dead. Maurice's body lay crumpled on the hot asphalt in San Diego. His prized Gold Wing 1800 motorcycle wrecked nearby. His fiancée, Cheri, knew something was wrong that afternoon — Aug. 14, 2020.

John Schuler spent years restoring a 1948 Tucker sedan, a car he fell in love with as a young boy. But now he's ready to part with it, donating the proceeds to cancer research.

Early research at Mayo Clinic is a step toward hope for a future treatment for patients with traumatic spinal cord injury. Chris Barr grabbed his surfboard and walked toward the water, leaving what may have been his last footprints in the warm sand.

Life lessons illuminate medical students' paths.