Dr. Dipika Aggarwal survived stage 4 colon cancer and a stroke. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Dipika Aggarwal) Dr. Dipika Aggarwal sat in a Kansas City, Kansas, diner on a Tuesday afternoon two years ago sipping coffee and enjoying a mushroom omelet and toast. Only a month before, the neurologist had returned to work after going…
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy survivor Alison Conklin. (Photo courtesy of Alison Conklin) At 13, Alison Conklin passed out while playing in a basketball tournament. When she collapsed again during a competitive game of floor hockey, her mother took her to see a cardiologist. An echocardiogram of Alison’s heart showed the wall between the two bottom chambers of…
Lisa Wiles (right) helped save her husband, Dan, by performing CPR. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Wiles) Lisa Wiles was in the kitchen prepping dinner in April 2020 when she heard her husband, Dan, shout an expletive from the other room. She figured it was a reaction to the news. Still, she went to check on…
Stroke survivor Mike Maddux made a full recovery when family members acted F.A.S.T. (Photo courtesy of Mike Maddux) It was the evening of Jan. 30, 2007, when Mike Maddux got the phone call from his stepfather. His mother was in the bathroom with the door locked and her husband couldn’t get her to come out….
Heart disease survivor Jade Ahankoob. (Photo by Kia Ahankoob) Jade Ahankoob loved wrestling. As a teenager, she devoted herself to the sport. Her diligence helped her win state championships in high school. She became a two-time All-American in high school, then earned the accolade again as a college freshman. Her passion, however, became too all-consuming….
Stroke survivor Mark Davis (right) with his wife, Lisa. (Photo courtesy of Mark Davis) As Mark Davis slowly woke up, he shuddered over the terrible dream he’d just experienced. In it, he had no feeling in his right side and each breath was a struggle. He was relieved to leave it behind as he thought…
Cardiac arrest survivor Mary Gordon (left) with her fiancé, Matt Costakis. (Photo courtesy of Mary Gordon) At 37, Mary Gordon was fit, energetic and healthy. She regularly pushed herself through workouts on a high-tech stationary bike and ran 5Ks. So she was at a loss to explain the fatigue she began experiencing. Shortly before Christmas…
Heart attack survivor Liz Johnson with her family, clockwise from top left: Liz, Steve, Cooper, Chloe and Quin. (Photo courtesy of Liz Johnson) Between her nausea, chills and profuse sweating, Liz Johnson thought she was coming down with the flu. The seventh-grade math teacher struggled through the rest of her 90-minute teaching block before heading…
Stroke survivor Andy Thoman. (Photo courtesy of Andy Thoman & Sophia Shock) In the more than 30 years he worked as a dispatcher for a relative’s trucking company, Andy Thoman was never late. So when his sister, Amy Brammer, discovered he hadn’t made it to his job, she knew something must be wrong. “If he…
Stroke survivor Brooke O’Connell and her dog, Okie. (Photo by Quinn O’Connell) Like many roller coaster lovers, Brooke O’Connell and her son Declan always threw their hands up in the air during descents. “Mom, put your hands up!” he shouted while the two shared a ride on a corkscrew coaster at an amusement park in…