For many people who struggle with obesity, dieting and exercise alone are not enough to lose and maintain substantial weight loss to improve their improve their health. For some, bariatric surgery, in addition to lifestyle changes, may be the holistic approach…
On Oct. 8, 2013, George Rudis began his day the way he always does—with a run at the Sacred Heart-Griffin track. For the 62-year-old Springfield native and lifelong athlete in training for a marathon, everything seemed normal. “I got up…
For many people who struggle with obesity, dieting and exercise alone are not enough to lose and maintain substantial weight loss to improve their health. For some, bariatric surgery, in addition to lifestyle changes, may be the holistic approach to…
Meet Linda. She has struggled with gaining weight and then losing it, only to gain it back, since graduating from high school. Recognizing that her emotions influenced her food intake, she knew she not only needed to improve her diet,…
When it comes to overcoming obstacles, Harold Whitnall has faced and conquered it all. A Vietnam veteran who lost his father to emphysema, Harold’s lung has collapsed five times in the past 40 years, beginning when he was 25 years…
When Walter Melcher learned he had Stage 4 throat cancer, he knew the prognosis wasn’t good. Just four years earlier, he had lost his first wife to a 13-year battle with breast cancer. Six months later, while he was undergoing…
Kristi Kramp, like many, was a smoker. Unlike many, she had no desire to quit. “I loved smoking,” Kristi said. “Quitting was the furthest thing from my mind.” That is, until she attended the 2011 Be Aware Women’s Fair. With…
When Billy Ruyle could not sign his name at work or even grasp the pen, he realized he had a problem that was bigger than just a cold. Billy grew up in a small town, just south of Springfield. After…
Two years ago, Gretchen Plotner was visiting her son in Florida when her left knee started going out. “It was becoming difficult to even walk,” said the 77-year-old Lincoln resident. “I knew I needed to get home and see my…
Stan Zielinski went through “many, many years of denial” before he realized he could no longer put off his knee surgery. And now, after having both knees replaced in separate procedures six months apart about five or six years ago,…