David Stewart, 61, started cycling as part of a transition from running marathons to competing in triathlons. He rode at least twice a week, covering between 40 to 50 miles. His weekly cycling group had just logged mile 27 of…
As a hospice nurse, Tena “T.J.” Leich helps patients through some of the most difficult moments of their lives. But not long ago, T.J., 58, needed help herself. When she suffered a dangerous pulmonary embolism, the lifesaving care she received…
Sean Lynch didn’t think anything was seriously wrong the afternoon of his massive heart attack. The 50-year-old local radio personality was setting up a pre-party at the Illinois State Fairgrounds for the band Foghat. He started to feel overheated, which…
The minute she saw the umbrella, she knew. They had been acquaintances for a long time. Both were from small-town Virden; He was just one year ahead in school. Their kids went to the same daycare. She saw him almost…
Phil McCarty, 38, was finishing 30 pull-ups in a friendly competition among friends at the Triple Threat gym in Jacksonville when he lost consciousness and fell 10 feet to the floor, landing on his back and bouncing his head twice…
Mike Dulakis was progressing through his normal workout Feb. 3 at Taylorville’s Lock Up Gym, lifting weights from a seated position, when everything changed. The 39-year-old guard for the Taylorville Correctional Facility was “training to failure,” a common weight-lifting strategy.…
Friends come and go. A true friend, however, is invaluable. They stick up for you, never judge and are with you in good times and bad. And when times get really bad, it helps when that true friend is the…
It’s been said what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Gillespie’s Randy Redmon and his wife Amanda are a true testament to that age-old quote. Three years ago their house burned to the ground. The lint trap in their dryer…
The possibility that she might be having a heart attack only briefly crossed Becky Griffith’s mind. She was, after all, only 40 years old. Last November, the mother of two began to feel severely fatigued and short of breath. While…
One day can change your whole life. June 13, 2006, started out normal enough for Bret Beherns, an 18-year-old college student working a summer job building cellphone towers. The self-described adrenaline junkie was finishing up work installing antennas in Rochester…