Mary Mizeur had just finished lunch at work when she noticed something was off. She tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come out right. She laughed it off. Then it happened again. “My heart was racing. It didn’t feel…
In the United States, more than 100,000 adults and children await an organ transplant—more than 4,000 in Illinois alone. April is National Donate Life Month, and Memorial Health’s surgical services team shares these steps to significantly impact the lives of others.…
High school honors chemistry teacher KJ Reid didn’t get sick. Not as a child. Not as an adult. Then in February 2023, his healthy streak came to an abrupt and dramatic end. “He was my child with perfect health,” said…
Working your way back to “normal” after a stroke is a journey – one that Chatham’s Jim Huffman is all too familiar with after having survived two strokes within a few weeks of each other in fall 2023. Thanks to…
The halls of a hospital can be a hectic environment – except when an Honor Walk is taking place. For a few sacred moments, the normal hustle and bustle comes to an abrupt stop. Family, friends and healthcare workers line…
Last year at this time, Jacksonville’s Nancy Bork was recovering from an August stroke, faithfully attending her physical therapy appointments and planning a quiet Christmas. “You learn to appreciate the moments and the time together even when you are in…
In May 2013, Daniel Fouts was enjoying every minute of his life with his wife, their toddler and a six-month-old baby. But a few months earlier, the then 26-year-old had experienced a sense of impending doom he couldn’t quite forget.…
John Pruitt is a big fan of the medical community in Springfield. “The medical community is Springfield as far as I’m concerned,” the owner of E.L. Pruitt Co. said. “They employ the largest number of employees outside the State of…
A broken ankle was bad enough, but as she sat in the waiting room at a doctor’s appointment last summer, Norby Tester had a stroke. “I was having pain in my leg,” Norby said. “I thought I might have a…
At what pivotal time will you or a loved one need blood? Millions of patients nationwide need lifesaving blood products—including many within our own community. Blood donation benefits local patients battling cancer, kidney transplant recipients, those with sickle cell disease,…