Patient Stories

Ronald Piscitello was only 47 years old when his life changed completely — not in an instant, but over the course of a long, confusing year. Today he is a changed man, and his wife and family are grateful to have him back after a frightening...
Three years ago, Beth Willey of Marlow, New Hampshire, traded her tech-industry job for a quieter life at home. “I wanted to do something fun,” she says, “and to be home to take care of my elderly parents and my young children. I started a business...
“You know when you get a ‘brain freeze’ from eating ice cream too fast? That’s what it felt like,” says Kelly Olivo. The 55-year-old mother of four lives in the hamlet of Slate Hill, about 75 miles northwest of New York City, and life was good — she...
When she’s on assignment, Maddie Kachurak is usually moving nonstop. The 25-year-old wardrobe stylist travels around New York and the world to work on photo shoots for advertising campaigns — sourcing clothing, developing creative concepts, and...
Abby Oberriter loves nothing more than hiking on local trails with her husband and their two children. On days when she’s not exploring nature, she’s playing old-time video games, including Dungeons and Dragons (35 years and counting)! Life is...
[Read this story in Spanish/Leer en Espanol]  Jennifer Dipiton Alcantara was only 10 years old when she started feeling strange. Her left side felt vaguely numb, with very little strength and a bit of a “twitchy” feeling. It came on gradually, until...
A lot has happened for Alexandra Lebenthal in the past seven years. In 2016 she became our first patient treated with MRI-guided focused ultrasound (FUS) after the FDA approved it for essential tremor. Since then, she and her husband, Jay, have...
Leer en Ingles/Read in EnglishJennifer Dipiton Alcántara tenía sólo 10 años cuando empezó a sentirse extraña. Su lado izquierdo se sentía vagamente entumecido, con muy poca fuerza y una sensación de “nerviosismo.” Fue poco a poco, hasta que un día...
Henry Dunlop, of Flourtown, Pennsylvania, does not believe in slowing down. At 73, Henry — known to all as Hank — is the president of an international agriculture company and keeps extremely active in his spare time. If he’s not working, you’ll...
You might know the name Dr. Orna Guralnik from having read one of her features in The New York Times or The Washington Post, or you may have seen her profiled in The New Yorker. It’s even more likely that know of her as the host of the award-winning...

Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery 525 East 68 Street, Box 99 New York, NY 10065 Phone: 866-426-7787