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This is the first of a series of articles about the imaging services offered by Heartland. These stories will show how the care and compassion shown by caregivers truly have made a difference in the lives of the people they touch.  In this article, eighteen-year-old Denise McEnaney and her mother, Janine from Tarkio, Mo talk about a day that could have ended very differently.

"I was playing in the Bishop LeBlond Holiday Basketball Tournament. On the final day of the tournament , in the first minute I drove the lane, I did a spin move and went down because I tore my ACL" says Denise. "Becky Johnson, the trainer, came out and helped me and did some checks on me and said that she would get an appointment for us at ADI."

Janine adds, "It really was amazing because she got hurt within the first two minutes of the game and by halftime Becky had an appointment for her and she was there by halftime. And they were great. They were very good to us. We got the MRI done before her leg even started swelling."

"It was very quick, very quick," Denise confirms. "They were very concerned about me. First thing when I came in they helped me into a wheelchair. They were asking questions and were very kind.  My MRI took 30 minutes and then my x-ray only took about five and that was it. They gave us a disk of the images so we could take it with us because being from out of town, we didn't know where we were going to be going. Then they called us about four or five hours later and told us the results. They were very good."

Janine adds, "It was a really good experience. They dealt with a lot of tears that day and they were very kind. They joked around with Denise, to lighten up the mood. It's her senior year so this was definitely not what we were hoping for, for her basketball season. I was impatient wanting to know what it was. And they called and then they faxed the results to our family doctor. They just helped us in all different kinds of ways. When we went to the doctor in Omaha, he wanted to know if it was a mobile MRI, and I told him no. He thought the results were wonderful. He was very impressed."

Denise adds, "I know a girl who tore her ACL three weeks before me and she still hasn't had her results back yet. I had mine that day. I'm going to play ball at Northwest Missouri State University next year. If they wouldn't have gotten me in that early, I probably would have to wait another week and a half and then possibly longer and I wouldn't be able to play until September which wouldn't have been good. I should be cleared by the end of June or early July. I would have had to wait another month if we had the results two weeks later. "

Janine agrees, "That was probably the biggest benefit. How quick it was. Because when you go to play ball at college, they start off-season training as soon as they get there in August, and then they start season in October so time is of the essence."

Denise sums her experience up with a big smile, "I'll be right on track, and I really owe it to them."