Lisa Harris, M.D.
Primary Care Physician, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics
Diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome

Dr. Harris is in private practice and has been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome.  She made changes in diet and exercise to treat the condition and currently has the syndrome and diabetes, under control.

Lisa Harris, M.D. was born in Oneida, New York, the eldest child and only daughter of the honorable Judge Roy and Mrs. Lucille King. Dr. Harris attended Monroe Jr. Sr. High School and then furthered her education at the University of Rochester, where she received a B.S. in neurosciences.  Later, she attended Morehouse School of Medicine where she received her medical degree. Her training was completed at the Detroit Medical Center in Detroit, MI. Dr. Harris is boarded in two specialties, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, allowing her to care for both the adult and pediatric populations. Currently, Dr. Harris is in private practice.

Curtis Benesch, M.D., M.P.H.
Director of the Strong Stroke Center
Asst. Professor of Neurology, University of Rochester Medical Center
Dr. Benesch's specialty is stroke, patient care, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation.

Dr. Benesch is currently an Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and Director of the Strong Stroke Center.  He completed his medical school training at the University of  Nebraska Medical Center before arriving at the University of Rochester where he completed his Neurology Residency and a Fellowship in Experimental Therapeutics in Cerebrovascular Disease.  He is a board-certified Vascular Neurologist with research and clinical interests in patients with cerebrovascular disease.

Dr. Benesch is committed to improving the care of patients with stroke and raising public awareness about cerebrovascular disease.  In addition to his academic work, Dr. Benesch has also worked closely with the American Stroke Association in public education about strokes. 

Larry B. Goldstein, M.D.
Professor of Medicine (Neurology) at Duke University and the Durham VA Medical Center

Dr. Goldestein is Director of the Duke Center for Cerebrovascular Disease, the Duke Stroke Center, and a Senior Fellow in Duke's Center for Clinical Health Policy Research.  Dr. Goldstein received his BA degree in 1977 from Brandeis University and MD from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1981.  His subsequent professional training included internship and neurology residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York (1981-1985) where he also served as Chief Resident (Neurology) in 1985.  He completed a research fellowship in cerebrovascular disease at Duke University (1985-1987) and then joined the faculty. Dr. Goldstein's laboratory work has focused on pharmacological effects on recovery after focal brain injury, and he is principal investigator for NIH-supported studies of pharmacotherapy for poststroke recovery.  Through his work in Duke's Center for Clinical Health Policy, Dr. Goldstein has been interested in optimizing the delivery of care to stroke patients and those at elevated stroke risk.  He has published over 330 journal articles, reviews, editorials, book chapters, abstracts, and other professional papers and has edited or co-edited 5 volumes including two books. 

Kyra Mills
Paramedic

Kyra Mills is a Critical Care Paramedic in Rochester NY and has over six years experience in the field.  She holds certifications in Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support and Basic Trauma Life Support.  As well as specialized training in emergency airway management- Rapid Sequence Induction.  Kyra lives with her husband and baby daughter.
 

Davin Brigman
Welder and Stroke Survivor

Davin is a  32-year-old welder  who lives with his wife and two children His life was jeopardized by a stroke which began as he was walking to his parents' house and felt a "bad headache" coming on. He'd had migraines before and thought this was just the beginning of one more head-splitting attack. This time, however, he began feeling numb along his right side.

Arriving at his parents' house, Brigman called his wife. She listened to his symptoms and insisted he go to the hospital. By the time they had driven the 10 miles to Pioneer's Memorial in nearby Brawley, Brigman was paralyzed along the whole right side of his body - a major indicator of stroke.

At the hospital, the emergency room doctors were able to confirm the stroke diagnosis quickly enough to give Brigman a new medication that dissolves blood clots and restores blood flow to oxygen-starved brain cells. Today, Brigman is almost completely recovered.

Elissa Orlando
Civilian Guest

Elissa L. Orlando is a 20-year veteran of public affairs programming and multimedia storytelling. Orlando is director of national programming and special projects at WXXI Public Broadcasting. She was producer of the nationally televised Crucible of Freedom companion program to Ken Burns Not for Ourselves Alone.  Orlando has won several New York State broadcasting awards for television news reporting in Somalia Africa, Homestead Florida and other local and national venues.  She is a recipient of the Gracie award for television programming from American Women in Radio and Television, and she is the recipient of a Telly award for her production of the TV documentary Reclaiming the Crescent.  Orlando also received the Woman of the Distinction award from the Jefferson County Women's Conference in 1995. She was formerly TV news and public affairs director at WXXI, where she also served as executive producer, Website editor, and news anchor of Need to Know, WXXI's Emmy Award-winning newsmagazine.