Our conception of health and medicine has changed immensely over the last few decades. The demarcation between medical science and other aspects of our lives is much more fluid. New innovations seem to blossom every day and new horizons are now offering greater knowledge and hope than ever before. We talked to three men whose lives are intertwined with medical science, and they offered us fresh perspective on the road forward.
Dr. Giridhar Vedala
Giridhar Vedala, M.D., is a board-certified Noninvasive Cardiologist at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center, treating patients ages 13 and up. He will soon broaden his care to include work inside the new South Tower that will be completed this summer. Part of Memorial Hermann’s $250.6 million major campus expansion, the South Tower is predominantly a cardiovascular space with designated cardiovascular beds, cardiac testing spaces and heart catheterization labs.
“Cardiovascular treatment options have expanded significantly over the last 1 to 2 decades, and as these procedures have become more standardized and the benefits more clear, Memorial Hermann’s investment in space and resources to provide these opportunities to the local community is inspiring,” says Dr. Vedala.”
Dr. Vedala was born in India and grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana. He attended Pennsylvania State University for undergraduate studies and earned his medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He completed his internal medicine residency and cardiovascular fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, where he also served as a clinical faculty instructor. In 2001, Dr. Vedala joined a cardiovascular group practice in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 2014, to be near family, he moved to The Woodlands, and in 2017, he joined Memorial Hermann Medical Group, Woodlands Cardiology. When not working, Dr. Vedala enjoys playing tennis, watching films, reading science fiction and spending time with his family.
“There have been great advances in cardiovascular medicine prevention and treatment. Many national scientific organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device companies have been able to bring to fruition significant preventative and treatment measures to prolong and improve quality of life for our cardiac patients,” says Dr. Vedala. “In the treatment arena, the most exciting and transformative changes have been the opportunity to provide more complete coronary artery revascularization with improved stents, implant devices to limit need for blood thinners in atrial fibrillation, and ability to provide valve replacement or valve repair technologies through percutaneous means as opposed to open surgical procedures. In the prevention arena, improved pharmacologic options for more aggressive management, early advanced cardiac imaging to identify plaques in heart blood vessels, and even monitoring pressures within the heart for patients with chronic heart failure to keep them out of the hospital, have significantly increased chances for our patients to enjoy healthier and longer lives.”
Will Herndon
Will Herndon was only 6 years old when he was diagnosed with Juvenile Batten Disease, a rare and fatal neuro-degenerative brain syndrome caused by an autosomal recessive gene mutation. At the time, there was no treatment, no cure, and no research on the horizon. Surreal and unacceptable to his parents, Missy and Wayne, they created HOPE: The Will Herndon Research Fund to raise awareness and fund a cure.
13 years later, Missy and Wayne’s dream for their son, and children everywhere affected by Batten, is now a reality. In his 14th week, Will is now officially known as BBDF 101 Clinical Trial Participant #1 at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston and the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland.
“If this trial treatment works as we hope, it will slow the progression of Will’s disease,” explains Missy. “Potentially changing what is a devasting, terminal childhood disease into a chronic condition. For Will and our family, it means life.”
Clinical trials for rare diseases are not made--they are forged--and in this case, in the blood, sweat and tears of a passionate fundraising family and the community rallying behind them. Since its inception, HOPE has raised nearly $9mm dollars (Yes, you read that correctly!), putting Batten on the medical help map and The Woodlands on the charitable giving map.
Over the years, Will has lost his vision, has seizures, has suffered cognitive losses and speech impairments, but like his parents…has never lost hope. Once the drug receives Federal Drug Administration (FDA) final approval, Will’s wish is that all children suffering from Juvenile Batten Disease will have access to it too.
In the meantime, this fun-loving teenager dutifully takes his medicine 6 times a day, travels to a slew of medical appointments both near and far, attends The Woodlands High School, plays Challenger Baseball at ORWALL, horses around with his beloved brothers and cousins, paints and dreams of his future as a zookeeper.
Ronald Dykes
Ronald Dykes is president and managing partner of Diamatrix, a provider of products and services to ophthalmic surgeons, and a celebrated artist.
Founded in 1993, Diamatrix helped usher in a new era of cataract surgery with its revolutionary Trapezoid diamond blade. Designed in conjunction with Clear Cornea pioneer, Dr. Charles H. Williamson, M.D. of the Williamson Eye Center in Baton Rouge, this patented blade design helped make Clear Cornea Cataract Surgery the most effective and efficient surgical procedure today.
As a cataract and refractive surgery market innovator, Dykes is proud to have launched the Xpand Iris Speculum, an intraocular expansion and retention device that expands the iris, enlarging the pupil during intraocular surgery which can be removed following the procedure without damaging the eye tissue and allows for increased procedure visualization.
Originally from Sacramento, California, Dykes joined the U.S Navy and served in Vietnam. After he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Connecticut, he became intrigued by ophthalmic technology, because it allowed one to see the eye in ways never seen before. In the 1980s, after studying at Georgetown University of Medicine in Washington, D.C., a job with The Avery Eye Institute brought Dykes and his wife to The Woodlands.
After working at Diamatrix for over 10 years, Dykes’s son and daughter purchased the business. Not one to slow down, Dykes is now developing a handheld post-surgical stigmatism device and recently opened the Art of the Eye Studio in The Woodlands where he can often be found teaching art to his beloved grandchildren.
“I’m always looking for the differentiator in the market that will create better outcomes for patients,” says Dykes. “We are made by our creator in his image, and, therefore we are creators—we are by nature creative.”
City Lifestyle salutes Dr. Giridhar Vedala , Will Herndon Ron Dykes, as they mark significant change in their own lives and in the lives of others.
Special Thank You to Memorial Hermann Hospital for providing us access to the beautiful new South Tower