You wouldn’t look at Robert Taylor and think he survived a stroke. The 56-year-old is a poster child for good health. He ran the Boston Marathon, completed three Ironman competitions — including the national championship — in one year, and has participated in countless triathlons. Even a random 100-mile bike ride on a Saturday morning…
I never thought it would pick me. Until it did. The elusive COVID-19 sneaked up on me like a killer in a horror movie, slowly tore apart my body, devoured my soul and left me for dead. Here we are, almost five months later, and every day I’m fighting for my life, and sharing my…
Most days it feels like I’m navigating through an endless sea of pain, drifting further away from shore, until the only thing I recognize is the darkness of night. The darkness and I, we have become one and the same since Nov. 13, 2020. That’s when my whole world changed, the day I tested positive…
Daniel Bulleit knows a lot about the power of art. His interest began at age 5, when he would draw pictures to stand out among a family that would grow to include 11 siblings. He studied art at Indiana University and the Colorado Institute of Art, which led to an award-winning career in commercial art….
Specialized COVID-19 antibody treatments were nothing new to Jackie Bourke, R.N., CCRC, a clinical research nurse working on infectious diseases studies. She knows firsthand how quickly COVID-19 can turn serious for some patients and had seen the investigational treatment work. When she got the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, she was ready. Jackie tested positive on…
A seizure in late May, followed by another in early June led Ben Smith to the emergency department at Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital. Visitor restrictions were in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, but he found comfort in knowing his wife, a nurse at the hospital, was working nearby. A computed tomography (CT) scan…
Photo by Anna May Photography Stephanie Virgin was 29 and hoping to start a family, so ovarian cancer was the last thing on her mind — even when she experienced textbook symptoms. The Louisville native chalked up her back pain to the high heels she wore to her work in real estate. She thought the…
The lump on Lonnie Gardner’s left arm looked innocuous. Maybe an insect bite, he reasoned. For weeks in 2014, the human resources professional went about his business, unconcerned. But the lump got larger and caught the attention of his wife, Megan, who suggested he consult with a dermatologist. More weeks went by. She kept insisting….
I have gone through it — you know, the losing of my hair, losing my fingernails, my toenails, my breasts. I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer on July 28, 2008. That date is when everything changed. It kept playing in my head: I have cancer, I have cancer, I have cancer. My concern…
St. Xavier High School quarterback Jack Sivori can’t pinpoint the day he injured his shoulder. But as the 2019 football season progressed, throwing became more and more painful. “I couldn’t throw as hard, and I started throwing weird because of the pain,” the 17-year-old junior said. “I would put my arm over my head and…
Soccer is a big part of Gregory “Trey” Murphy’s life. Trey is a goalie, and he plays on both a high school team and a travel team. Soccer came to a sudden and painful halt for Trey in March 2019. In warmups, Trey went to step one way but his leg got caught under him,…
Riding his bike on a trail, Dan Lillpop tried to turn around in tall grass. The bike stopped and Dan fell. The 65-year-old braced himself with his left arm, tearing the rotator cuff in his shoulder when he hit the ground. After a trip to the emergency room, X-rays, and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)…