(New Brunswick, NJ) - For almost thirty years, the ice rink has been a refuge for Lara Gomez. No matter what problems or stress she experienced off the ice, it all disappeared when she went to the rink to skate or play hockey.
Today, it continues to serve as the perfect escape to support her recovery from a life-threatening brain aneurysm that she suffered 10 years ago. Now a decade after that near tragedy, Lara is doing what she loves again – playing hockey, skating, sailing and creating art.
Lara had just been through an extremely stressful time, caring for her terminally ill mother who eventually succumbed to cancer. While trying to distract herself from the grief she felt, Lara decided to take her six-year-old daughter to go ice skating at a local rink when she fell ill.
About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) New Brunswick, an RWJBarnabas Health Facility, is a 628-bed academic medical center that is New Jersey’s largest academic medical center through its deep partnership with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. RWJUH is the flagship Cancer Hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, a nationally-ranked 2023-24 Best Children’s Hospital by U.S. News & World Report. Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, stroke care, neuroscience, orthopedics, bariatric surgery and women’s health. A Level 1 Trauma Center and the first designated Pediatric Trauma Center in the state, RWJUH’s New Brunswick campus serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness.
RWJUH has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety, including the prestigious Magnet® Recognition for Nursing Excellence and being named to Newsweek’s 2023 list of Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers. The RWJUH Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center has been recognized by The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association as meeting The Joint Commission's standards for Disease-Specific Care Comprehensive Stroke Center Advanced Certification. RWJUH has also earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Disease-Specific Care Certification for Spine Surgery; The Joint Commission Gold Seal Certification for Bariatric Services; and The Joint Commission Gold Seal Certification for Hip and Knee Replacement services. The Joint Commission also awarded RWJUH a Gold Seal Certification as well as an Advanced Certification in Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) Implantation.
Learn more about Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Brain Aneurysm Program.
Contact: Peter HaigneyRWJUH Public Relations
(732) 937-8568