Gastroenterology (GI)

On the evening of Sept. 19, 2025, Emily Vickrey sat down with her family for one of their household’s dinnertime favorites. But more than a decade ago, this seemingly typical evening would’ve felt impossible. And considering just 12 hours earlier, she was at undergoing a minimally invasive procedure to re-implant a gastric stimulator to her stomach, it would have seemed all the more unthinkable.

“My quality of life is 100% different from what it once was.” Emily said. “I’m able to enjoy life, live normally, and celebrate birthday dinners and holiday meals again.”

Learn how a minimally invasive procedure finally gave Emily control over her gastroparesis symptoms.

In 2011, Emily was diagnosed with gastroparesis, a condition that prevents stomach muscles from moving food through the digestive system, leading to prolonged periods of nausea and vomiting following meals. 

By 2013, she had lost more than 120 pounds, was in and out of the emergency room, and desperate for a solution. That’s when a Google search revealed that UI Health — located just a few hours from her home in Springfield, Illinois — was one of the only hospitals in the Midwest to specialize in a minimally invasive gastroparesis treatment option called electronic gastric stimulation (EGS).

“UI Health has been one of the leading institutions in the treatment of gastroparesis,” UI Health gastroenterology surgeon Dr. Mario Masrur said. “It’s a surgery we’ve been doing here for over 20 years. In that sense, UI Health has an advantage over other institutions, because we have a larger experience in the area.” 

EGS treats chronic nausea and vomiting from gastroparesis with a small implantable device that sends mild electrical pulses to the walls of the stomach. The shocks aren’t strong enough to feel, but they activate muscles in the stomach, which act as a conveyor belt moving food through our digestive system. For more than a decade, Emily has relied on a gastric stimulator to stay in control of her symptoms. 

By the evening of her first surgery, Emily was back home and able to eat meals without restrictions. By day three, her soreness had completely subsided, and she was used to how the device felt in her body. But this was just the beginning of her relationship with her care team at UI Health.

“Once we see a patient, and they get their neurostimulator implanted, it begins a lifelong relationship we’ll have with that patient,” UI Health nurse practitioner Amy Bachman added. “We make sure they’re getting constant care. We have an entire team trained to help them adjust their settings or get them in for whatever management they need.” 

In the ensuing years, she has had multiple outpatient surgeries to re-adjust or temporarily remove her EGS device to allow for other necessary medical treatments and in the process, she has developed a close relationship with Dr. Masrur and his team in the UI Health Gastroenterology Center for Digestive Diseases.

“When I come to UI Health, I don’t feel like a patient. I feel like family.” Emily said. “Dr. Masrur is my personal hero. He means everything, because without him, I wouldn’t be here.”