Detective Sergeant Chris Johnson always kept his health in mind. He knew he had a family history of high blood pressure, so he made sure to stay active and eat well. His job with the Bartlett, Illinois, police force kept him on his feet. When he wasn’t at his desk or spending time with his wife and two children, he was in the gym or playing basketball.
One Sunday last March was a rare, slow day. He had spent it relaxing with his family and watching some TV before heading to bed early. Shortly after lying down, he began to feel a chest ache. Believing it was a muscle cramp, he went to the kitchen for some ice.
“I didn’t feel nauseated, headache, or anything,” Johnson told CBS News. “I remember getting really hot. I went to my kitchen, and then I basically collapsed.”
Luckily, Johnson’s wife had followed him into the kitchen. When he fell, scattering ice across the floor, she leapt into action and called 911. Paramedics arrived at the house in under two minutes, Johnson said. He was sped to an area hospital, then airlifted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Doctors rushed him into a six-hour open-heart surgery. The procedure saved his life.
When Johnson awoke, doctors told him he had experienced an aortic dissection, which is when the body’s main artery tears, causing massive internal bleeding. The condition is rare and often fatal, killing about 13,000 people per year, according to the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Survival depends on the location and size of the tear and how fast treatment is received.
“If this tear was two millimeters bigger, it would have been instantly fatal,” Johnson said.
“My surgeon came in at one point and he was explaining it to me. After you hear it, you’re like, ‘Oh man, this is serious. This is a lot. This is a lot more serious than I thought’,” he continued. “And it all stemmed from one night. I mean, the Saturday before I went and got a couple tattoos. Everything was normal. And then two days later, you’re fighting for your life, literally.”
A recovery “against all odds”
The dissection wound up being just the first of Johnson’s health troubles. After his surgery, his heart rhythm became abnormal. Doctors needed to shock him with a defibrillator three times to keep him stable. Johnson also had two strokes, two pulmonary embolisms caused by blood clots in his legs, and pneumonia. His right arm was paralyzed by the strokes, he said.
“At one point, they did tell my wife that they didn’t think I was going to make it after going through the strokes and all those other medical issues,” Johnson said.
After 10 days in the ICU, Johnson was transferred to Northwestern’s Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital. He started physical therapy and quickly hit his milestones. But occupational therapy proved tougher. He and occupational therapist Beth Bosak spent three months working on his fine motor skills.
When they first began working together, Johnson’s arm “barely moved” and his hand was “not really responding,” Bosak said. He wanted to get cleared to use his service weapon again and be able to manage his large dog. Bosak blended personalized exercises and classic occupational therapy techniques to create a custom plan. Soon, Johnson was making progress.
“For a while, I didn’t want to believe that my injury was as serious as it was. That was hard for me to believe. Day one, I walked in there, and I was like, ‘I don’t want to, I can’t do this,'” Johnson said. “My therapists were amazing. There were tough days, absolutely, but it was amazing. In the beginning, I thought, ‘There’s no way I am ever going to ever get back to normal.’ And now I am — against all odds, I guess. I’m back.”
“Don’t ignore those signs”
During his rehabilitation, Johnson had been on light duties at work, meaning that he was at his desk instead of out in the field. In August, just 10 weeks after finishing occupational therapy, he was cleared to return to full duty. It was an important milestone, he said.
“I was like, ‘I feel amazing. I feel good,'” Johnson said. “Now here we are.”
Johnson returned to work with an extra mission. He has become an advocate for hypertension and heart health awareness, especially for Black men and people in high-stress jobs. He said he has frequently recommended that colleagues get mild symptoms looked at.
“The profession that we’re in, in law enforcement, it’s a high-stress, crazy job, right?” Johnson said. “We have tickets to the greatest show on Earth, but if we don’t take care of ourselves, then we can end up in situations like this. Now I’m more like the advocate of ‘Go get heart scans’ and things like that.’ What I’m excited to bring to my department and others that do this profession, or any type of high-stress profession, is to listen to yourself. Don’t ignore those signs. Go to the doctor and get checked out.”
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