From patient to painter

Anxiety left Amy Schneider a recluse slipping toward depression until she experimented with painting.

For Amy, painting relieved the symptoms of anxiety and built her confidence – progress she shared with Jessica Thompson, NP, Gundersen St. Joseph's Elroy Clinic.

"Her whole behavior and attitude completely changed when she talks about her painting," Jessica says.

Jessica encouraged the hobby and requested to view Amy's artwork.

"When Amy showed me her artwork, I knew immediately it would not only look amazing in my exam rooms but the confidence and enthusiasm it gave her was extraordinary and absolutely priceless," Jessica says.

Jessica purchased 10 of Amy's pieces that now hang in patient exam rooms in the Elroy Clinic.

"When I saw them in the Clinic, I could have cried," Amy says. "It is such a surreal feeling that I made something that someone likes and now everybody can see it."

Across Gundersen Health System, you'll find providers like Jessica who support your accomplishments achieved inside and outside our walls.

Every day, throughout the many locations that make up Gundersen Health System, staff deliver world-class care plus a little something extra – we call it Love + Medicine. If this story inspires you to share a story of your own go to gundersenhealth.org/submityourstory.