“It’s like animal-assisted therapy combined with yoga, whether it’s a goat or a puppy,” said Danielle Kerr, owner of Goat Yoga Chicago in South Barrington.

Kerr started offering goat yoga classes in 2015 and expanded to puppy yoga after she got a call from the founder of Second City Canine Rescue, which has an adoption center in Palatine.

“These are brand new babies. They don’t know anything. They’ve never seen a human get down on the floor and play with them and so this is exposing them to all the things that they’re going to need for when they join a forever family,” said Christina Morrison, Development Director for Second City Canine Rescue.

All of the puppies that participate in the yoga classes are rescues up for adoption, which is why puppy yoga classes don’t have a regular weekly schedule.

“It is all over the place because we wait for a transport of puppies to come in. And to be honest, sometimes those puppies are suffering from, you know, different things that they need to be treated for before they come into puppy yoga,” Kerr said.

Once they are cleared for adoption, the yoga studio sends out a newsletter with the puppy yoga class times and dates. You can sign up for the updates here.

“You can do the yoga and pet a puppy or you can just sit there and pet a puppy. We don’t care. It just brightens everyone’s day. I never see anyone leaving here still stressed out or unhappy,” Morrison said.

The American Heart Association cites research that shows just playing with a dog can raise feel-good chemicals in the brain and lower blood pressure.

“And just to know that you’re doing something good, so the puppies get socialized, and they get to go to good homes after that. And then you know that you played a part in that which is pretty cool too,” Kerr too.

Bittle put her kids to bed and went to sleep, but ended up waking up a few hours later with nausea. So, she went to the bathroom and tried to vomit.

But that never happened.

“I laid down on the bathroom floor and progressively felt more nauseous and then a little sweaty,” she said, recalling the 90 minutes or so she sat down in the bathroom. Bittle tried to get up to take a shower — but realized she didn’t have the strength to get off the floor.

Suddenly, she started to panic.

Bittle managed to get up, which caused discomfort in her chest and shortness of breath. Somehow, she made it over to her mother, who by chance, was visiting at the time. Then, out of nowhere, the single mother of two became unconscious for five minutes.

Paramedics arrived and rushed Bittle to an area hospital, where doctors revealed startling news – she was having a heart attack.

“The last thing I remember — I don’t recommend it — was being defibrillated,” she recalled in an interview with TODAY.com. “I remember being electrocuted alive.”

Bittle wasn’t even 50 years old, had no known health conditions and exercised regularly.

She had even climbed Mount Kilamanjaro, and just months prior underwent an annual physical, which included an EKG. Doctors treating the mother determined she had a 100% blockage in the main artery of the heart, which is often referred to as a widow-maker heart attack.

The single mother of two was clinging to life.

Doctors intubated her, installed a stent and temporary heart pump and placed her on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, also called ECMO, which is “the most intense form of life support that somebody can receive,” according to Dr. Bow (Ben) Chung, a cardiologist with the University of Chicago Medicine who treated Bittle.

“This was basically about as sick as a person can be, from a heart perspective,” he said.

Bittle’s family was told to say goodbye and that a heart transplant seemed to be the only option. After experiencing multiple cardiac arrests while hospitalized, doctors were concerned about how much of Bittle’s brain function remained intact.

She was put on an emergency transplant list and transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in hope that a heart would become available.

“Very miraculously, after what I understand to be a lot of craziness, my heart recovered to an extent where (they) thought, ‘OK, maybe we don’t need a transplant right now. Let’s wake her up,'” Bittle said.

Within a few days, she was taken off ECMO and had the heart pump removed, but hit another hurdle: Bittle developed blood clots in both her right and left femoral arteries, which cut off circulation in her leg. She was quickly moved into surgery, where surgeons saved her leg and repaired the arteries.

From there, things got a little quieter as she focused on recovery.

Bittle spent about two weeks in the hospital, followed by six weeks of outpatient rehabilitation and another 18 weeks of cardiac rehabilitation. She also wore a LifeVest, a wearable defibrillator, for 90 days.

In February 2023, she had a noticeably tough day in outpatient rehab.

“It was just a tickle in my chest,” she said. “And I went to cardiac rehab and I was walking on the treadmill, and it felt more difficult than it did the day before.”

Out of an abundance of caution, her doctor sent her for a stress test. The results were “not overly concerning, but just a little funny,” Bittle explained. So, again, out of an abundance of caution, her doctor ordered further testing, which revealed she had a 70% blockage in the main artery.

If not caught, that could have caused another heart attack.

It’s not uncommon for people to have a second heart attack after surviving their first, Chung said, but it was unusual for another blockage to develop under these circumstances.

“At that point, she was on all of the right medications … to prevent another heart attack,” he explained.

Instead of having open-heart surgery, doctors offered Bittle the option of robotic cardiac surgery. Unlike open-heart surgery, doctors don’t actually have to stop the heart with this approach. Plus, patients can go home within a day or two and resume their normal lives.

Almost a year after her robotic surgery, Bittle is doing “fantastic,” she said. “Most days, I would never know.” 

She still has residual heart damage, takes medication every day and there are some days when she gets winded and needs to take it easy.

“I will be a heart failure patient for the rest of my life, but my recovery is nothing short of remarkable,” she said.

One of the biggest reminders of her health journey is the scars that she’s left with, but even those have become a source of connection.

Sometimes she compares scars with her son, who had heart surgery at 10 months for a congenital condition.

“We’re both heart warriors,” she stated.

In a previous interview with the University of Chicago Medicine, Bittle acknowledged she “survived the unsurvivable.”

“…I survived the unsurvivable, right?” she stated. “I have access to extraordinary medical and rehabilitative care. That’s a privilege, and I’m so extremely lucky. And now I’m going to go live a long life.”

Looking back, Bittle wishes she had known just how common heart attacks are in women and that women can present with subtler symptoms than men. Regardless of gender, the most common symptom is chest pain.

According to Chung, a lot of people are hesitant to call something pain. It may present as discomfort, pressure or tightness or appear as a nagging feeling that just won’t go away.

“Many women think it has to be, ‘I’m clutching my chest and falling down on the ground like you see in the movies,’ and it can be much more subtle,” Dr. Tara Narula, NBC medical contributor, explained on a Feb. 1, 2024, TODAY show segment.

Other subtle signs that can indicate a heart attack include the unusual indigestion and sudden nausea Bittle experienced, as well as shortness of breath and shooting pain in the jaw, back, arm or shoulder. Women are more likely to develop these easily-missed symptoms than men, Chung explained.

Heart attack symptoms in women can include:

• Chest pain, discomfort, heaviness, tightness or pressure
• Jaw, neck, shoulder or upper back pain
• Nausea, vomiting or indigestion
• Shortness of breath
• Extreme fatigue or fainting

Research shows that women are also significantly more likely than men to die after a heart attack, potentially due to delays in diagnosis and treatment.

The bottom line is that if you’re having a symptom that’s unusual for you, particularly if it doesn’t go away, you should get medical attention, Chung explained.

“You don’t have to go to the emergency department, but talking to your primary care doctor or going to an urgent care would probably be the best just to have an evaluation,” he said.

As Bittle puts it, “Don’t think you’re being silly. Get help right away.” 

Knowing everything she survived, Bittle said she feels a sense of “gratitude and amazement,” and doesn’t let herself get dragged down by negativity around her.

“It’s not worth me spending my energy in a negative place,” she explained, “because I’ve spent all my energy on staying alive.”

“I had a cold, and it went from the lungs to my heart and damaged my heart,” said Morris-Walton, 74.

Seven years ago, the WVON radio host spent 57 days in the hospital suffering from congestive heart failure. It was a heart transplant that saved her life.

“I’m here because someone donated their heart to me now I can help somebody else,” Morris-Walton said.

She proudly wears a pin with a red dress on it. It’s the symbol of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign, which started in 2004.

“We’ve been emphasizing for 20 years now the importance of heart disease in women, because for a long time it fell under the radar and we thought of heart attacks and heart disease as a man’s disease. Unfortunately as women we have to take ownership as well,” said Dr. Mercedes Carnethon, vice chair of Preventative Medicine for the Northwestern University School of Medicine and American Heart Association of Metropolitan Chicago Board Chair.

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, and that includes heart attacks and strokes. Symptoms can be different for women compared to men, which is why Dr. Carnethon says they can’t be ignored.

“Women often don’t look like they’re at risk for heart disease, but it is completely erroneous to assume that just because one looks healthy, and they’re physically active, that radiating arm pain isn’t a sign,” Carnethon said.

As a cardiologist, Dr. Carnethon wants women to take their heart health seriously. It’s a lesson Morris-Walton shares with women after her 57 days in the hospital, which is also the title of a book she authored, detailing the experience.

“You cannot take care of somebody else until you take care of yourself and, of course. Go Red For Women Day, lets you know — you are first,” Morris-Walton said.

The American Heart Association encourages women to wear red on Friday, Feb. 2 to highlight the importance of raising awareness about women’s heart health.

“Red is a bright color,” Carnethon said. “It really stands as a beacon for people to say ‘Hey, why are you wearing red today?'”

When it comes to ways that women, and men as well, can improve their heart health, the American Heart Association has a list of factors to consider. They call it Life’s Essential 8.

The single mom from Tinley Park wants her kids to be kids and not focus on her illness.

“They are telling their friends, ‘You know, hey, my Mommy needs a liver,'” Heaton said. “According to my son, the robot will fix mommy’s liver and give her a new one.”

Heaton’s diagnosis came in 2017. Doctors told her she had primary sclerosing cholangitis, or PSC.

PSC is a chronic liver disease in which the bile ducts inside and outside the liver become inflamed and scarred and eventually become narrowed or blocked. When this happens, bile builds up in the liver and causes further liver damage.

Chicago Bears great Walter Payton had the same chronic liver disease, Heaton said.

“The life expectancy for someone with PSC is not very great after diagnosis. It’s about 10 to 12 years,” she said.

After 15 surgeries and numerous therapies, Heaton is now fighting against the clock.

The only thing that can save her life is a liver transplant, preferably from a living donor.

“With a living donor, they go through a screening process that takes about four weeks, and they work them up from head to toe and they can say this person has the best chance of not rejecting the liver transplant,” Heaton said. “With a deceased donor, you don’t know much about them. All they know is the size of the liver, the bile ducts, things like that, all match. Your body could reject your body and you don’t know much about it.”

Three basic criteria are needed for a match: Blood type O (- or +), between the ages of 18 and 55 and in healthy condition.

To apply to be a living donor, fill out this questionnaire through the University of Chicago Medicine. You’ll need her name, Elizabeth Heaton, and her birthday, March 13, 1988, when completing the form.

No wonder honey sales peak in January, according to the National Honey Board, the industry promotion board.

Made by bees from flower nectar, honey has been eaten and used for medicinal purposes by humans for thousands of years. But is honey really good for you?

Honey nutrition:

Honey is naturally about 80% sugar, so it’s calorie- and energy-dense. One tablespoon of honey contains the following, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture:

• 64 calories
• 17 grams of carbohydrates
• 17 grams of sugar

Honey has no fat, protein, fiber or cholesterol, but one tablespoon contains trace amounts of calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, selenium, vitamin C and folate.

In all, honey contains about 180 types of different compounds, including various phytochemicals, or plant-based bioactive compounds, studies have found.

What are the health benefits of honey?

If you’re choosing between different types of sweeteners, there might be some benefit of honey due to all the different compounds it contains, says Maya Vadiveloo, Ph.D., a registered dietitian and an associate professor of nutrition at the University of Rhode Island.

“There’s been some research showing that it has more antioxidants, and it’s relatively a better source of potassium and some minerals than, say, table sugar,” Vadiveloo tells TODAY.com.

“But I wouldn’t rush out to be eating honey as a health food… it’s still a source of added sugar.”

Honey contains antioxidants such as phenolic acid and flavonoids, which make it a slightly better choice than sugar, but both should be consumed in moderation, says Elisabetta Politi, a clinical dietitian at the Duke Lifestyle and Weight Management Center in Durham, North Carolina.

As a source of antioxidants, some studies suggest honey can help prevent heart disease, she adds.

A recent study found consuming around 2 tablespoons of honey a day alongside a healthy diet may improve cholesterol levels — reducing LDL cholesterol and triglycerides while increasing HDL cholesterol, says Diego Garzon, a clinical dietitian at UHealth, the University of Miami Health System.

“(But) honey is sugar like any other sugar,” Garzon tells TODAY.com. “At the end of the day, it should only be consumed in a very small amount.”

Which kind of honey is the best?

Darker honey generally has a higher antioxidant content than lighter honey, with Illinois buckwheat honey showing the highest antioxidant activity, according to the National Honey Board.

No matter what the floral source is, Garzon recommends eating raw honey, which hasn’t been heated or filtered, “so it tends to be a very pure form of honey without any of the nutritional content being compromised,” he says.

Foodborne pathogens don’t survive in honey so heating it doesn’t provide any food safety advantage, according to the Mayo Clinic.

How is honey used for healing?

Honey has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties.

Some of honey’s components might kill certain bacteria and fungi; it can keep skin from sticking to wound dressings and might provide nutrients that speed wound healing, according to the National Library of Medicine.

Honey is possibly effective for improving the healing of burns, cold sores, and the swelling and sores inside the mouth caused by chemotherapy or radiation, the agency notes, citing the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database.

Topical honey products might also improve the symptoms of rosacea, it adds.

Is honey effective for cough?

Yes, in head-to-head studies, honey either did as well or outperformed cough medicines, Dr. John Torres, NBC News senior medical correspondent, said in a TODAY segment that aired on Oct. 28, 2022.

“It did a really good job,” Torres noted.

When children with an upper respiratory tract infection were given either a dose of buckwheat honey, a cough suppressant or no treatment to relieve nighttime cough, their parents rated honey as the most effective remedy, a study published in JAMA Pediatrics found. It reduced cough and helped the kids sleep.

“The mechanism of cough suppression is not well understood, but honey has been shown to have both anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. … It may also just be that it coats a sore throat,” Dr. Cory Fisher, a family medicine physician at Cleveland Clinic, previously told TODAY.com.

Honey is “cheap, readily available, and has virtually no side effects, and doctors can recommend it as a suitable alternative to antibiotics” when it comes to upper respiratory tract infections in adults, researchers reported in the journal BMJ Evidence Based Medicine.

For cough relief, the experts suggested adding a bit of honey to some warm — not boiling hot — tea or water.

Does honey help with allergies?

No, this is a common myth, but honey doesn’t help with seasonal allergies, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

The theory is that local honey helps desensitize the body to pollen, but the pollen bees collect for honey is different from the pollens that cause allergies, the foundation noted.

The tiny amount of pollen allergens that might make it into honey would be broken down by the honey-making process and a person’s stomach enzymes during digestion so “you would not ingest enough intact pollen for your immune system to start becoming desensitized to it,” AAFA explains.

Health risks

Honey should never be given to babies younger than 12 months because of the risk of infant botulism, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns. It’s safe for children who are at least 1 year old, the agency adds.

Honey might slow blood clotting, so it could raise the risk of bruising and bleeding if eaten by people who take medications that also slow blood clotting, the National Library of Medicine cautions.

Large amounts of honey might increase blood sugar levels in Type 2 diabetes patients, it adds. The glycemic index — a measure of how quickly a food raises blood glucose — of honey and sugar is about the same, Politi says.

Is it OK to have honey every day?

Honey is considered an added sugar, which should be limited to no more than 100 calories per day for women and 150 calories per day for men, the American Heart Association advises.

That’s across all sources of added sugar, which add up quickly, Vadiveloo cautions.

If you’re not eating any other sugar, 2 to 3 tablespoons of honey per day should be the maximum, she and the other dietitians interviewed by TODAY.com say.

The best way to use honey is as a replacement for other sweeteners since it does provide some slight benefits over white granulated sugar, Garzon advises.

“If you don’t mind the taste of honey and you already use sugar in your coffee or tea then yes, I think there can be some benefit of substituting to honey,” Vadiveloo agreed.

“(But) I wouldn’t say that you need to have honey as part of a balanced diet. It’s not one of the things to eat more of like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes — it’s not in that category.”

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

• Michael Bolton reveals he had surgery for brain tumor before the holidays
• Emily Blunt and John Krasinski on what parenting includes: ‘an existential crisis’
• Kate Hudson crashed a chef’s TODAY cooking segment — then dined at his restaurant that night

It was 2019 and the little girl loved playing with dolls, going out for ice cream, and watching her favorite Nick Jr. cartoon, “Bubble Guppies.” At the teacher’s suggestion, Benton, 29, took the girl to see her local doctor in Ashtabula, Ohio.

At the time, Benton had never heard of precocious puberty. Having grown up in the Black community, where early puberty rates are among the highest in the U.S., Benton had known 7- and 8-year-old girls who’d had their periods or needed bras. But nobody in Benton’s family realized there was an actual medical diagnosis, or that prescription hormone treatments called puberty blockers could help slow the physical changes, if needed.

“Girls were just called ‘fast’ or ‘too mature for their age,’” Benton said. “I now understand they were struggling with precocious puberty.”

With puberty beginning at younger ages, especially among young Black girls, doctors say there’s an urgent need for greater awareness and education among families who may face hurdles in access to diagnosis and medical care.

In a 2022 article in the journal Pediatrics, researchers warned that biases in early puberty care had tremendous implications for the physical and emotional health of Black children.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com

High levels of flu-like illnesses were reported last week in 17 states — up from 14 the week before, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.

“Folks are traveling a lot more this season. They want to see their families,” said the CDC’s Dr. Manisha Patel. “And all of that sort of adds to the mix” in the spread of viruses.

Health officials are keeping an eye on a version of the ever-evolving coronavirus, known as JN.1. The omicron variant was first detected in the U.S. in September and now accounts for an estimated 20% of cases. The CDC expects it to reach 50% in the next two weeks, Patel said.

It may spread easier or be better at evading our immune systems, but there is no evidence that the strain causes more severe disease than other recent variants, health officials say. And current evidence indicates vaccines and antiviral medications work against it.

COVID-19 Dec 19, 2023

What to know about JN.1, the fastest-growing COVID-19 variant in US: Symptoms and more

Coronavirus Dec 14, 2023

As winter virus activity picks up, CDC warns of ‘urgent need' to boost vaccine coverage

As for flu, early signs suggest current vaccines are well-matched to the strain that is causing the most illnesses, and that strain usually doesn’t cause as many deaths and hospitalizations as some other versions.

But the bad news is vaccinations are down this year, officials say. About 42% of U.S. adults had gotten flu shots by the first week of December, down from about 45% at the same time last year, according to the CDC.

Americans have also been slow to get other vaccinations. Only about 18% have gotten an updated COVID-19 shot that became available in September. At nursing homes, about a third of residents are up to date with COVID-19 vaccines.

And only 17% of adults 60 and older had received new shots against another respiratory virus. RSV, respiratory syncytial virus, is a common cause of mild coldlike symptoms but it can be dangerous for infants and older people.

The CDC last week took the unusual step of sending a health alert to U.S. doctors urging them to immunize their patients against the trio of viruses.

The Carolinas are currently seeing the heaviest traffic for respiratory infections in emergency rooms, according to CDC data posted this week.

It’s not as dire as some past winters, but some patients are still waiting days to get a hospital bed, noted Dr. Scott Curry, an infectious diseases specialist at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

“We’ve barely been cold in South Carolina, and flu tends to hit us very hard when people actually get some cold weather to deal with,” he said. “We could get worse, very easily, in the next four to eight weeks.”

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Tracie Blackwell is a professional school counselor with an additional certification in “Youth Mental Health First Aid.”

“Anything that can enhance the help or the support that I can offer our students, that’s why I did it,” Blackwell said.

The certification is offered by the non-profit, Communities In Schools of Chicago.

“The CDC just came out with a new study recently and they said 90% of Americans think that the United States is in a mental health crisis. So you can’t get more stark than that,” said Bart St. John, chief innovation officer for Communities In Schools of Chicago.

Kids are in crisis too, according to Blackwell, who sees it in the children who attend Herzl.

“The trauma that they’re experiencing, the deaths and things of that nature, depression, suicide, so we are seeing a lot of it,” Blackwell said.

That’s why Blackwell completed the Youth Mental Health First Aid training this fall, along with several school deans and security staff.

“They have eyes on our students all day, at all times. So they can see when students are maybe experiencing or changing from one extreme to the next,” Blackwell said.

The half-day training program gives adults the tools to take action.

“They have like an initial set of steps, just like somebody who knows CPR does, to get the initial aid that the young person needs, to help them along in their recovery,” St. John said.

Youth Mental Health First Aid is part of a broad range of tailored supports that CIS of Chicago and its network of community partners provides to students and families from 238 Chicago Public Schools, but the Youth Mental Health First Aid training isn’t just for schools.

Any adult can sign up for public sessions offered monthly by Communities in Schools of Chicago. You can find upcoming sessions here.

Special sessions can be arranged for other organizations as well.

“Companies can come to us, organizations, if they want to do a special training for Youth Mental Health First Aid, we can accommodate them that way,” St. John said.

In addition to training staff, Herzl works with community partners to offer additional support services including individualized check in sessions and brings in facilitators to hold talking circles for referred students.

“We want to offer anything that could support our students when they’re having a mental health challenge,” Blackwell said. “You don’t really want somebody to slip through the cracks. So the more eyes and ears, the more people that we have trained and able to give that first level, that level of support because they’re certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid, the better.”

However the professional Santa Claus from suburban Park Ridge wasn’t sure he would be able to this year, after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke in October.

“He never got headaches before that or anything and all of a sudden, he’s like, you know, I feel like I blew a gasket,” said Paula Biggio, Gottschlich’s wife, who also works by his side as a professional Mrs. Claus.

Gottschlich headed to Advocate Lutheran General’s Emergency Department, and Dr. Marion Oliver, an interventional neurologist, was called in.

“It was very evident that he had a brain bleed, and brain bleeds are something that we specialize in. So they called us, and we ordered additional imaging,” Oliver said.

It was determined that Gottschlich needed a procedure that involved threading a catheter from his groin to his brain, to stop the bleeding.

“We did not have to do an open brain surgery. It’s a minimally-invasive brain surgery,” Oliver said.

The minimally-invasive procedure was a huge relief for Biggio.

“It was really a lifesaver because we were worried, you know, he has beautiful hair and a beautiful beard. And we want it to be that way for December,” Biggio said.

It wasn’t until Gottschlich woke up from the procedure that doctors found out what he does for a living.

“I said, ‘Wow, reaally?’ And then he of course he showed me all have his accolades, where he does all the Santa appearances and all the cool things he does for the community,” Oliver said. “It’s fantastic. I mean, I didn’t wake up that day thinking I was going to help Santa Claus.”

Dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Claus, Gottschlich and his wife returned to Advocate Lutheran General on Friday, to say thank you and spread cheer at the hospital that saved his life.

Gottschlich spent less than a week in the hospital. Fully recovered, he’s been able to honor all of his holiday commitments, which start before Thanksgiving and continue through Christmas Day.

“Being Santa, there’s a lot of joy in delivering happiness to the children and to the families,” Gottschlich said.

“It had started just like a cough or any sinus infection or cold,” Warford said.

When Warford’s cough persisted for a year, she went to see her primary care doctor last November and was diagnosed with acid reflux. When medication didn’t work, Warford went for a chest x-ray.

“That’s when the fluids started showing up. So that’s when they switched from the acid reflux meds to the pneumonia antibiotics,” Warford said.

Those didn’t clear her cough either. Eventually a PET scan found the source, lung cancer.

“The primary was lung cancer, and they call it stage four, because it had spread,” Warford said.

“So the cancer has gone to the liver, other lung, some of the lymph nodes as well as the bone,” said Dr. Dennis Chan, Warford’s radiation oncologist at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights.

Further testing through an MRI found the cancer had also spread to her brain.

“The MRI showed that there was five spots growing in the brain. That was the shock,” Warford said.

Age 41 at the time and a non-smoker, Warford was stunned, but Chan said new research showed Warford is not alone.

“There’s a higher incidence of young woman in the age 35 to 55 group who are being more and more diagnosed compared to their male counterparts,” Chan said.

Dr. Chan recommended a targeted therapy that involves Warford taking eight pills a day.

“This therapy is absolutely working. She’s had a blockbuster response,” Chan said.

Six months into treatment, a new PET scan showed the amazing results.

“The cancer that spread to the liver, to the other parts of the lung and the bone that activity is no longer present. The liver looks normal,” Chan said.

While the targeted therapy worked on most of the tumors, one brain tumor needed another tactic, called the CyberKnife.

“It’s a type of radiation. And it’s so different from the traditional radiation because,

for Mandy, we were able to just give them one treatment over 20 minutes,” Chan said.

“We’ll find that if that worked in about mid-December,” Warford said.

A frequent traveler, Warford tries to remain hopeful she has many more trips in her future.

“Stage four doesn’t go away. You hope for this, no evidence of disease. And hopefully I will have that for years,” Warford said.

According to Dr. Meena Seshamani, director of the Center for Medicare, more than 300 advertisements have already been rejected from airwaves because they contain “misleading” information about the enrollment process, and on options available to Americans.

“We just rejected 300 TV ads for being potentially misleading,” Seshamani said. “So it’s very important that everybody knows that Medicare.gov and 1-800-MEDICARE are the official sources of information.”

Open enrollment open for Medicare started on Sunday, and runs through Dec. 7, with those eligible urged to visit the official federal Medicare website, which can be found HERE.

Americans over the age of 65 can compare options, and can opt to enroll in traditional Medicare or in a Medicare Advantage Plan, with the latter offered by private insurance companies.

Medicare has three parts. Part A is a premium-free program that helps provide hospital insurance for eligible Americans age 62 or older.

Medicare Part B, which covers outpatient procedures and other parts of medical insurance, requires a monthly premium contribution. Enrollment is required for members who are retired or who have lost their employment status and are eligible for Medicare.

Finally, Medicare Part D covers prescription drugs. Monthly premiums are often required unless participants qualify for assistance. Coverage is not required for plan participants enrolled through CIP, TRIP or other state-based programs.

More information can also be found on the state of Illinois’ website, as well as through the State Health Insurance Assistance Program’s website.

“We will open our doors to youth from difficult circumstances that will enter our state of the art facility and learning environment,” said Lezlie Fuhr, the director of programming for the new school, which is set to be called “West40 at St. Joseph.”

The alternative school is part of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s plan, announced earlier this year, to expand behavioral and mental health services to children in need.

“I believe he came to West 40 because we have had a great success rate for the last 25 years and serving students with complex needs,” Fuhr said.

State-funded, the classrooms will have a new purpose serving foster children and other youth in need.

“Right now, we have kids that are sleeping in conference rooms and hospital wings. They are incorrectly placed because there’s no place for them to go. So there’s just a great, great need,” Fuhr said.

West40 purchased the Westchester campus for $8 million. Originally two Catholic schools sat on the property. Immaculate Heart of Mary was an all-girls school and St. Joseph High School was an all-boys school. That school was also well-known as a basketball powerhouse, made famous by the 1994 documentary “Hoop Dreams.”

In 2005, IHM closed its doors due to declining enrollment. St. Joseph High School moved into the former IHM buildings and welcomed girls and boys into the school. Then in 2021, amid the pandemic, the decision was made to close St. Joseph as well.

As for the new plans for the site, a former convent will become a dormitory for no more than 40 students at a time.

“We’re finding now with our research that adolescent boys are our target population,” Fuhr said.

Demolition is slated for two buildings at the north end of the property, the original St. Joseph High School buildings, which are dilapidated and have been hit repeatedly by vandals. The proposal for that end of the property includes a community garden and a walking trail.

“In all reality, you want to see something good happen with the property in general and I think West40’s is the perfect adaptation for that,” said Jimmy Milas, a former student who was a junior at St. Joseph when the school closed in 2021. He finished his senior year at Montini Catholic High School in Lombard.

For an Eagle Scout project, Milas created a “cancer awareness garden” in a courtyard on the east side of the campus. He planted a tree for the community to tie ribbons to its branches and installed a bench where people could reflect and pray.

When Milas learned West40 had purchased the property, he reached out to inquire about the garden’s future.

“I did this for the community. I was hoping it could stay on the property. And they honored that and it seems like it’s going to stay,” Milas said.

Renovations to other areas of the property are planned, including repairs to windows broken by vandals. Those plans are making their way through the zoning process.

“The village of Westchester is wanting us to go through a formal zoning process and so our lawyers are working together to work out those details to make that happen,” Fuhr said. “We want to expedite it as quickly as possible. We’re hoping to be open in the next 18 to 24 months.”

While saying goodbye to the 61 years of tradition at St. Joseph was difficult, Milas believes West40’s plans for the campus are a continuation of the Catholic school’s mission.

“It fits the morals of what St. Joe’s was and, at this point, St. Joe’s is no longer a place. It’s an idea of education for everybody, especially the people who have been dealt a really bad hand,” Milas said.

West40 has held three town halls to discuss the project with the community and plans to hold an open house in the future.

The agency has also created a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the project on its website, found here

Jen Parsio came to Second Act Cancer Recovery Boutique for a reason.

“This past February, I was diagnosed with a brand new tumor that was actually in my same breast as my initial breast cancer,” Parsio said.

The wife and mother from Portage Park has been battling breast cancer since 2015. After a new tumor was discovered, she underwent a mastectomy on her right side several months ago.

“Unfortunately, I was not a candidate for reconstruction due to some other underlying health issues,” Parsio said.

That’s why Parsio sought out Pattie Cagney Sheehan’s boutique at 2768 N. Lincoln Avenue. Sheehan is a mastectomy fitter, certified by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics.

“Well, it’s not a sock in your bra. That’s the first thing,” Sheehan said.

The boutique carries various types of prostheses, including a silicon prosthesis that is covered by most insurance companies.

There’s also a balance shaper, which is helpful to even out shaping for women who had a lumpectomy. In addition, there is a sport-style prosthesis that is made of mesh and is breathable and washable, which is good for exercise and swimming.

Parsio just picked up a black tankini bathing suit that she can now wear at the gym and on trips with her husband and two kids.

“They actually want, you know, like me to sit on the beach with them and do that kind of stuff. So now I can,” Parsio said.

In addition to the bathing suits, Sheehan also carries a wide array of tank tops and bras, made with special pockets.

“So whether it’s a swimsuit or a tank top or a blouse, or a sports bra, or a strapless bra, they all have pockets and they all carry a prosthesis,” Sheehan said.

And many women may not realize that most insurance companies will cover specific types of prostheses and bras.

“A standard off the shelf prosthesis is covered by almost every insurance company. In fact, the Women’s Health Care Act of 1999 said if you’ve had breast surgery, you have to be provided a prosthesis,” Sheehan said.

Women don’t have to be newly-diagnosed to qualify for a prosthesis. Sheehan said all insurance companies offer lifetime coverage of the standard silicone prosthesis, even if your surgery and treatment was years earlier.

There are also custom prostheses, which are only covered by some insurance companies, although Sheehan is working to change that.

“A woman’s breast is the only body part for which Medicare does not provide a custom prosthesis and we are currently working on an act in Congress to get that changed,” Sheehan said.

Parsio says having access to a wide variety of bras and tank tops has truly helped her look and feel better.

“I had, you know, just something stuffed in my bra, nothing fit right. And I came in here and I just I was floored with the chant the choices that I had,” Parsio said.

Second Act Recovery Boutique is open by appointment only, Monday through Friday. You can find more information on their website.

“The key thing with sepsis is you have to have an infection and then it’s your body’s overwhelming response to the infection,” said Dr. Karin Molander, an emergency department physician working with the Sepsis Alliance to raise awareness about the potentially-deadly condition.

“About 50% of patients who get septic shock will die, so it’s a big deal. And that’s part of the reason why we’re trying to increase awareness. We don’t want it to get to that point,” Molander said.

When sepsis sets in, time is of the essence and “TIME” is the acronym the Sepsis Alliance and other health officials use to help the public remember the warning signs of the condition:

T = Temperature (higher or lower than normal)

I = Infection (may have signs or symptoms of an infection)

M = Mental Decline (acting confused, sleepy, difficult to rouse)

E = Extremely Ill (severe pain, discomfort, shortness of breath)

Molander says sepsis can happen at any time, but is more common in the winter.

“Typically the winter season is when we have an increase in the amount of sepsis because that’s when we also have more cases of the flu,” Molander said.

That’s why Molander and other emergency room physicians are urging flu shots, COVID vaccines and other precautionary measures, especially for those at the highest risk.

“The very young, the very old, those with chronic illnesses like diabetes or emphysema are at the highest risk,” Molander said.

Peter Guglietta knows how deadly sepsis can be. He lost his wife of 30 years, Gail, to septic shock in 2020.

“With Gail unfortunately, we got there too late,” Gugletta said.

Guglietta said his wife thought she had a case of the influenza, but her symptoms worsened.

“I could tell something wasn’t there. Her sharpness wasn’t there and she was always very with everything. And she was sleeping a lot. So we decided that there was something more at work here than just a simple flu,” Guglietta said.

When they got to the emergency room, they learned Gail had suffered a ruptured colon after experiencing diverticulitis and sepsis had set in.

“48 hours after she was admitted to the hospital, she passed,” Guglietta said.

He is sharing her story to help people remember the acronym, “TIME,” something he lost with his wife, due to sepsis.

“Time is of the essence, and in this case, unfortunately, we were on the wrong side of time for Gail,” Guglietta said.

A middle school teacher from Libertyville is speaking out about her ovarian cancer diagnosis at age 36 to help inform other young women about what symptoms to look out for.

“There are like 32-plus types of ovarian cancer, and the one that I have is one of the more rare types. I had not heard of it at all,” said Kerstin Cholewin, now 38.

That stunning diagnosis, stage 3c low-grade serous ovarian cancer, came after Cholewin experienced symptoms that triggered a check-up.

In addition to intense bloating and an irregular menstrual cycle, Cholewin said she would feel full when she hadn’t even eaten much.

“I knew my body well enough to know that something was wrong,” Cholewin said.

Those symptoms can often be misdiagnosed, especially in younger women, according to Dr. Alok Pant, a gynecological oncologist at Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital.

“Bloating, changes in appetite, changes in bowel function are pretty vague, pretty nonspecific symptoms that everybody has from time to time,” Pant said. “It’s usually persistent symptoms that go on for a while that ultimately result in some kind of imaging study where we usually discover findings that are concerning for a cancer.”

Unlike a mammogram for breast cancer, there is no early screening test for ovarian cancer.

“As of right now, unfortunately, there is no good screening test. There are protocols being devised where an annual ultrasound along with bloodwork, but the exact specific combination has not been nailed down,” Pant said.

That’s why Cholewin is glad she followed her instinct and got checked.

“Don’t ignore your body. It’s so important to know how your body works, what it feels like normally, and then don’t wait,” Cholewin said.

“From a risk reduction standpoint, knowing your family history is extremely important,” Pant added.

Teams that stay in the Williamsport complex for the Little League World Series will continue to sleep in single beds in the wake of last year’s incident where a boy seriously injured his head when he fell out of his top bunk.

Little League International made the change last year after 12-year-old Easton Oliverson, a pitcher and outfielder for the Snow Canyon team out of Santa Clara, Utah, was injured in August.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we placed all beds individually on the floor during last year’s World Series, and in preparation for the 2023 Little League International Tournament, Little League decided to provide its participants with single, one-level beds for all of their player housing at each of its tournament locations, including those in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where the dormitories can accommodate all 14 single beds,” Little League International said Monday in a statement.

This year’s tournament starts this week and runs from Aug. 16-27.

Little League World Series Aug 14, 2023

Full guide to the 2023 Little League World Series

The Oliverson family had kept Easton’s condition continuously updated on social media with photos of the boy — in a wheelchair and wearing baseball T-shirts — posing for pictures with his family and friends until the end of 2022. The family later sued the league and the company that made the bed.

The negligence lawsuit, filed by Jace and Nancy Oliverson on last September in Philadelphia, said there was no railing on the top bunk. Little League did not comment on the lawsuit. A message left Monday for the Oliveron’s lawyer was not immediately returned.

“It’s a very safe, effective and efficient way that’s sort of a sweet spot in spine surgery right now,” said Phillips, Director of Spine Surgery at Midwest Orthopaedics at RUSH.

Created by Arlington Heights-based Augmedics, the headset is part of the “xvision Spine System,” which the company says allows surgeons to see a patient’s anatomy as if they have “x-ray vision” in the operating room.

“The ability to see the spine in three dimension through the skin with sort of precision anatomy just sort of blew me away,” Phillips said.

Using the headset, the 3D visualization is superimposed over the patient during surgery.

“The real-time anatomy makes the placement of the screws more accurate. It’s also incredibly-efficient, because it’s a headset and offers a heads-up view of the spine. You never have to look away from the surgical field at the monitors,” Phillips said.

Kathy Sefton from Arlington Heights is one of Dr. Phillips’ patients.

“Before my surgery, I could not take my garbage to the end of the driveway without my pain going to a nine or a 10,” she said.

Dr. Phillips recommended a spinal fusion for Sefton and described how he would use the “x-vision Spine System” during her surgery. Then it was Sefton’s turn to be impressed.

“It’s like a video game,” she said.

Ten months after surgery, Sefton is now able to hold her grandson, Logan, and is planning a family trip to Disney World, things she she says she never could have done before surgery.

“If he can do that, and make things go quicker, make the surgery shorter, make the recovery shorter. It’s a win-win,” Sefton said.

“It makes me a better surgeon and I think it translates into better patient outcomes,” Phillips said.

After using the headset for hundreds of surgeries, Dr. Phillips believes spines could be just the beginning.

“Ultimately, we’ll be able to look at not just bone anatomy, but soft tissue anatomy through the augmented reality headset. See where nerves are in real time,” Phillips said.

Approved by the FDA in 2019, studies are being done to expand its use in the future.