[Maya - Patient's granddaughter]
My grandmother was like the heart and soul of the family. She was the best cook by far. When my grandmother got sick, our whole family kind of like collapsed, to be honest.
[Mr. Chan - Patient's husband]
We met at a relation's wedding. She was very pretty. We have done a lot of traveling, been to 39 countries. When she fell ill, that was the biggest blow really. We loved going out to eat and her illness just put a complete stop to that. I still remember the day, she was vomiting very badly and I had to call the ambulance. They said it was a perforated ulcer in the esophagus. They said treatment now is going to involve them putting a camera down and dilating the esophagus. She couldn't eat anything. She had lost a lot of weight 'cause everything was being fed through the stomach RIG. And I asked the doctor, I said, well, you know, what's the long term cure for this now? He said, "Not really sure. She might have to, you know, stay like this."
[Daljit Chana - Patient]
I was struggling to eat. I couldn't brush my teeth. My hand start shaking 'cause I've got no strength. That was I was giving up hope.
[Maya]
I was very distraught hearing that because it's the things that she loves that she can't do anymore. We couldn't go shopping, We couldn't go to the garden center. We couldn't even have family meals because she'd be the only one not eating. My grandmother was very frail and she was getting skinnier by the day and she was on an IV drip 'cause she couldn't eat and drink. It was horrible seeing her like that, and I think she got upset seeing herself like that as well.
[Mr. Chan]
It was very hard, we'd married in 51 years, she'd never been like that before. I said, "We've gotta get a second opinion or something." I Googled and I just put in general esophagus treatments. Obviously, there's a whole list of clinics came up and Mayo Clinic came up. Mayo Clinic, the name just, you know, meant something to me.
(gentle music)
[Sarmed Sami, MBCHB, MRCP, PGCME, Gastroenterologist - Mayo Clinic Healthcare - London]
So Mrs. Chana came to see me towards the end of 2023 for a second opinion at Mayo Clinic. Having been told that this is gonna be the long-term solution with a feeding tube was clearly devastating to her.
[Mr. Chan]
He said, "I can't guarantee anything, but from what I've seen and what you've described, I think I can make her a little bit better." And I think those words meant a lot.
[Daljit]
And he's given me very good hope. I was really impressed with him.
[Sarmed Sami, MBCHB, MRCP, PGCME]
She had what we call a narrowing in her gullet, okay. So the gullet is like a food pipe or a pipe, and you have a narrowing there, which we need to kind of open up. Now, the problem in her case is that the narrowing was really long and she actually had two areas of narrowing in the gullet, which makes it super hard to get rid of and treat. I think what gave her confidence is that I was part of a group who led the development of the UK guidelines on how to do oesophageal dilatation, which is the procedure that she needed.
[Mr. Chan]
I really want to go ahead with this, you know, because my wife's health's number one importance to me, you know? So we booked the first dilation and she's had five dilations now, and every time it's improved.
[Sarmed Sami, MBCHB, MRCP, PGCME]
After a couple of sessions, we were able to successfully remove the feeding tube, which was really an amazing achievement for her. She immediately looked a different person. I mean, all the staff in the hospital were commenting on how bright she looks. Her face was lit up and she herself was telling me stories about how she's now able to sit at the dining table with her children, grandchildren, going to restaurants, enjoying meals again with her husband.
[Daljit ]
Then slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, I'm getting better and better and better. I go in the garden as well and can sit in the garden for a few hours and my granddaughters come.
[Sarmed Sami, MBCHB, MRCP, PGCME]
That's a good example of how second opinion can help you. We have to really assess individually case-by-case, and make a decision. Doctors differ in their expertise. Hospitals really differ in treatments they can offer. So here in Mayo Clinic Healthcare in London, the combination of clinical care excellence, cutting-edge research, high-end education, innovation, the combination of these, what I would call three pillars of medicine, I mean, very few institutions can get this right.
[Maya]
Ever since she went to Mayo Clinic, her health has improved rapidly. She's just been way better now, and we can see her more often. She's not ill anymore, she can eat. We can just be a family once again.
(gentle music)