Long-Time First Responder Marks Another First Bart Amburgey, an 87-year-old lifelong resident of New Egypt, is considered by many as a legend in his hometown. Earning the nickname “Father Bart” for his reputation as a role model and storyteller, he has volunteered in his community throughout his life—including 47 [...]
Larry Donsky is known for cracking jokes and making people laugh, but when he suffered a heart attack last June, he got serious about his health with cardiac rehabilitation. Active in the men’s club of his adult community and the local Italian-American club, the 77-year-old Jackson resident regularly booked [...]
Listen to Kelly talk about her amazing transformation after robotic gastric sleeve surgery. To learn more about weight loss surgery options at CentraState, visit our weight loss surgery page.
Feeling in the peak of health, 65-year-old Louise Cassar of Jackson visited her primary care physician in early February 2013 for her annual physical exam. To her surprise, the electrocardiogram (EKG), a routine part of the exam, revealed a slight abnormality. Despite Louise having had no symptoms that would [...]
Vicky Vydra, a 37-year-old mother of two from Marlboro, was an avid runner, skier, and scuba diver. When she developed a persistent headache, she was shocked that tests revealed she had a hole in her heart. After four weeks of debilitating headaches, Vicky visited her primary care physician, who [...]
For Bob Granito, the personal obstacles he conquers during a 12-mile Tough Mudder® are harsher than the challenges of a 16-foot-high wall, dangling live wires, or a water pit. A veteran participant of 10 Tough Mudders, the 55-year-old Freehold resident demonstrates that his multiple sclerosis (MS) does not define [...]
Brian Collins is a leftie. While that fact usually doesn’t impact his life much, it became a serious concern when he severed six flexor tendons, the flexor muscle, and the ulnar nerve in his left forearm, hand, and wrist. Brian, a 44-year-old Howell resident, was walking up his front [...]
Melissa Vella says her symptoms caused by uterine fibroids became so bad last fall that she constantly felt as if she were several months pregnant. “I was always tired, I had to urinate frequently, and even my abdomen was sticking out like I was pregnant,” says Melissa, a 46-year-old [...]
After working for 47 years as a lineman with a power company, Gary Balon is enjoying retirement this summer by working part time as a golf course ranger and spending time with his family, including two grandchildren. If you saw him on the course, it would be hard [...]
As long as he can remember, Jackson resident Mark Kelber had been suffering from excessively sweaty palms. “I’d have good days when my hands were dry, but anything—heat, caffeine, stress, etc.—could trigger it, and then my hands would be anything from damp to dripping,” shares the 38-year-old iron [...]
