Profiles
Jeffrey R. Carlson, MD
May 2010Jeffrey Carlson didn’t grow up knowing he wanted to be a doctor. In fact, this son of a grocer enjoyed working with his hands in a completely different way—as a carpenter. “As a kid in high school, my brothers and I grew up doing carpentry,” says Carlson. “I was proficient with my hands.”
But when his oldest brother got hurt on the soccer field, Carlson’s eyes were opened to a new application for his interest in working with screws, braces and joints. “My brother tore his [anterior cruciate ligament] and had a large surgery on his knee,” says Carlson. “The orthopaedic surgeon was kind to me and showed me what kinds of things they were doing wit Read More...
Julie Jackson
Mar 2010After years of training, Julie Jackson has crossed a finish line of sorts. Nearly 19 years in the fitness industry has led this passionate personal trainer to open her own gym and share her love of health and wellness with the Hampton Roads community. Fitness First Health and Wellness Center opened its doors Feb. 1 this year on Tazewell Street in Norfolk.
Jackson’s passion for fitness started in 1991 when she began teaching group fitness classes at Wareings Gym in Virginia Beach. “I was a member at Wareings and was approached by the director, who said, ‘Why don’t you start teaching for me?’”
Jackson enjoyed the teaching experience so much that she Read More...
Joseph T. Adinaro, IV, M.D.
Feb 2010Joseph Adinaro showed an interest in medicine at an extremely early age. In fourth grade, when a fellow classmate fell and hurt his head, Adinaro pushed through the crowd of children gathered around to assess the scene. “I said, ‘Let me have a look at him.’ My teacher turned to me and said, ‘Where’s your doctor’s license?’”
The rest is now history. After receiving his undergraduate degree from George Mason University, Adinaro earned his medical degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School in 2000. During his residency, he spent several months as an Air Force doctor, serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. “We had 600 pounds of equipment that coul Read More...
Faith Amoroso
Jan 2010Before her husband’s diagnosis, Faith Amoroso says, her life was practically perfect. Happily married, Amoroso and her husband Larry lived in New Jersey where she worked as a nurse in a surgical practice. Larry was an executive officer for an insurance and investment firm, managing four offices in the New York and New Jersey area.
“He was a brilliant businessman, a Duke University graduate and at the height of his career when he started having symptoms of dementia,” explains Amoroso. Larry was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 1998, and the couple spent the next 10 years dealing with the condition, Faith being Larry’s primary caregiver.
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Ravi Shamaiengar: He’s a Family Man at Heart
Dec 2009When you think you have a person all figured out, that’s when he or she is most likely to surprise you. When I asked my uncle-in-law, Dr. Ravi V. Shamaiengar—a diagnostic radiologist and The Health Journal’s co-founder and medical editor—to name his favorite place in the world, I expected him to choose from among his vacation destinations over the years—perhaps the tropical beaches of St. John, or the snowy slopes of Utah’s Deer Valley. But rather than reflecting on any one adventure, he said simply: “My favorite place in the world is wherever my family is.” Here are some excerpts from our interview. What he reveals about himself may surprise y Read More...
Dr. Lisa Harris: Changing Lives, One Pound at a Time
Nov 2009Thanksgiving is a special time of year, especially for people who enjoy eating—and really, who doesn’t? For some, the traditional holiday fare—mashed potatoes and gravy, buttered dinner rolls, stuffing and turkey, not to mention the array of desserts—is an appetizing treat. But for others, the delectable spread isn’t just food; it’s a feast made for self-loathing. For those with a compulsion to overeat, no matter the time of year, food can seem like both their greatest friend and their worst enemy.
Dr. Lisa Harris understands what it means to have this sort of relationship with food. As a weight-loss physician, she’s counseled thousands of patients Read More...
Anna Dube: Her Experience Came Hard Earned
Oct 2009 There’s a common saying that what doesn’t kill us inevitably makes us stronger. For 25-year-old Anna Dube, it was a near-fatal accident that inspired her to become a doctor of physical therapy. For Dube, helping patients recover from injury or illness is “what I always wanted to do—there was never any other option.”
On the eve of June 26, 1996, just weeks before her 12th birthday, Dube and fellow neighborhood swim team members were eager to celebrate their swim meet victory that day with a couple of ice cream sundaes at Friendly’s Restaurant. (Dube had been a champion swimmer since age six, well before her family moved to Williamsburg.)
After cros Read More...
John Cranham: Improving Dentistry Here And Around the World
Sep 2009When Dr. John Cranham worked summers as a sailing instructor at a Michigan yacht club during his late teens, he considered it a fun way to earn money doing something he loved. Little did he know that the job would power his own sails, propelling him toward a career in dentistry.
Cranham remembers meeting many interesting people during those summers at the yacht club, but it was the dentists and their families who stood out above the rest.
“A lot of the families that I really liked were the ones where the dad was a dentist,” says Cranham. “They seemed to have such a nice life. They were balanced—they really enjoyed what they did professionally, but they Read More...