When most people are excited about getting ready for that first year of college, Rufus Dorsey found out he was type 1 diabetic. While in high school, Rufus played sports including football that landed him a scholarship to college. One month before he headed off to college, Rufus was diagnosed with diabetes. Getting this diagnosis
Mike Lowell has been a champion on the baseball field winning 2 World Series championships, World Series MVP and countless other awards. But it is his battle with cancer that has made him a true champion and Health Hero. Five days before his 25th birthday and just before the 1999 baseball season, Lowell was diagnosed
Mario Lemieux has won the Stanley Cup as a player and an owner. He is considered one of the greatest hockey players of all time but Mario Lemieux’s greatest victory happened when he beat Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1993. He has won numerous medals in the Olympics, World Championships but he has said one of his
Edna Campbell has always been a winner but her biggest victory has been over breast cancer. In 2002 as she was getting ready for the fourth season in the WNBA, Edna was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was forced to miss all but one game during the 2002 season. Edna returned the next season and
Eric Shanteau was 24 years old and had just qualified for the Olympics. He was training to go to Beijing in 2008 and compete for the U.S. in the 200-meter breaststroke. Things changed one week before the Olympics when Eric found out that he was now battling testicular cancer. He had to make the choice
When most people look at Prince Harry, they see a confident, happy man but just recently he revealed that he has had counseling to deal with the death of his mother Princess Diana. In a 25 minute interview, Prince Harry revealed that he kept the grief of his mother’s death inside which led to feelings
Mark Herzlich is a tough guy. You have to be tough to play the linebacker position at Boston College and to make the big leagues with the New York Giants and win the Super Bowl in 2012. Mark’s biggest battle came after being named the ACC Defensive Player of the year and being touted as
Kendal Harding decided to take a stand for her health and lost over 100 pounds and this is why she is this week’s Health Hero. Kendal has had to battle a weight issue all her life despite being physically active. She walked. She did aerobics. She went to the gym but over time she continued
Sheryl Sandberg had it all. She was married to the man of her dreams, had two children and is the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook. Then her world changed in an instant when she found her husband dead. Sheryl was tossed into a world of sadness, grief, anxiety and worry. She has spoken out in a
Did you know that our Celebrity Health Hero, Jillian Michaels not only battles endometriosis, but polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)? Jillian rose to fame as a tough trainer on “The Biggest Loser”. Through her books and appearances she announced that she was having these battles after she was criticized for saying she would much rather adopt
Some have called JJ Virgin inspirational. Some have called her powerful. Others have called her inspiring. I call her this week’s Health Hero because JJ Virgin is all those things and more. She has made her mission in life to empower others to thrive and become better versions of themselves. Facing a potentially horrible tragedy
Michael J Fox grew up before our eyes playing Alex P. Keaton on the hit TV show Family Ties. Michael’s acting career continued to blossom and he quickly made the celebrity A list with continued television and box office hits. In 1991 at the age of 30 his world changed forever when Fox was diagnosed
Izabella after almost a decade of debilitating symptoms that she was told were “just in her head” or “due to depression” Izabella was finally diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. When she was initially diagnosed in 2009, she remembers feeling a sense of relief that she finally had an explanation for her chronic fatigue, irritable bowel
The Keiths are loving, caring and powerful family. By being a supportive family to their son, they have also become a source of comfort and love for many people around the world. Assigned female at birth, Roz and Richard Keith named their daughter Olivia. Olivia was always perceived as a tomboy with “male” preferences. At
Peter Adoni is this week’s Health Hero because in helping his son, he also has helped countless others with Type 1 diabetes. When Peter’s son Alex was first starting to play hockey, Alex could not drink the mainstream sports drinks because they contained a lot of sugar and fructose corn syrup. With Type 1 diabetes,
In a flash, Dustin Shillcox’s life was changed forever. Dustin was in a car accident and was paralyzed from the chest down. Doctors told him that her would never walk or be able to move his legs again. Dustin lived with this diagnosis until 2013 when he received an electrical stimulation implant. After doing 18
This week we celebrate Theresa Flores as our Health Hero. Theresa Flores is a story of strength and willpower. When Theresa was 15 years old and living in an upper-middle class suburb of Detroit , she was drugged, raped and tortured. She spent two years as a sex slave while attempting to pay back a
The Dr. Nandi Health Hero this week is defined by courage, strength, love and kindness and her name is Judy van Niekerk. Judy was born to parents who fought continuously and regularly used her as a pawn. At the age of 3, Judy went deaf due to psychosomatic issues. She endured operations that hoped to
He is a well known celebrity in the Detroit area. Many people see a strong and confident newscaster but many do not know the fight he is waging against a sinister disease. Stephen Clark has become a spokesperson for a rare genetic disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy or SMA. Clark did not plan on this
Most people on Valentine’s Day are making phone calls to make a reservation to a restaurant or to buy some flowers, no one wants to be calling an ambulance because their daughter is lying lifeless on the floor. This is how this week’s Health Hero had to spend February 14th in 2011, On that sad
Sheri and Corey Crawley came back to Detroit to be closer to her family. They came back with their two young daughters Laila and Aliya. It was a big move but they were up to the challenge. In the fall of 2010, their oldest daughter started kindergarten and as the months went by, she started
Imagine being a child and losing your hair. Not just a few strands of hair but patches. Now imagine, losing your hair as a child and because of it, you cannot participate in certain activities because of the hair loss or the fear of having your hair piece fall off or be pulled off. This
He is inspirational! He is powerful! He is spiritual and he is this week’s Health Hero. This is Eric Thomas and this is his story. Eric has been musically inclined all his life. From an early age, he enjoyed singing, musicals and reading. Eric kept up his musical interest and started a band. They recorded
What do you think of when you hear “She is a tough! She is a fighter!” Would you think of a 4 foot 11 inch woman in Texas? Well, this week’s Health Hero is a fighter! She is power and her name is Andrea Calhoun. Andrea is a trainer at a gym in Killeen Texas
To call our latest Health Hero a fighter is an understatement. Balaal Hollings has been called miraculous, an inspiration and so much more and it is all the truth. In 2013, Balaal was a football player, a wonderful student and getting ready to go to college on a scholarship. These dreams were shattered when he
I need to lose weight. I want to lose weight. I need to change my lifestyle! Have you ever said these words and not followed through? This week’s Health Hero knows the battle and he has taken the steps to not only better his life but has made it a mission to helps others as
She is passionate, a fighter, inspirational and Erin Merryn is our latest Dr. Nandi Health Hero . Erin has made it her mission in life to give children a voice and to make sure that sex offenders are put out of business. She was raped just a few weeks before her 7th birthday and the
Dr. Mary Neal is a board certified orthopedic surgeon and she is also a Dr. Nandi Health Hero. What makes Dr. Neal the Health Hero is not what she does with her practice but it is her experience of life and death and what it has taught her about living. Dr. Neal is an avid
How many times have you heard someone say “I would do it but…….” or “I don’t have the time to get involved”? This week’s Health Hero not only had the time, she had the hair! Cheyenne Gagnon is a true hero because she knows that she can make a difference with her time and her
To call Kim Evans a fighter is like calling the Grand Canyon a small hole in the ground. Kim first had to fight with her husband who was diagnosed with Grade 4 brain cancer. Kim stayed by his side through the whole affair and Ray lost his battle after a gruelling 12 months. Kim was
When Donielle found out she was pregnant, she was overjoyed and excited! Donielle went to her first ultrasound anxious to hear all the good news about the pregnancy but that excitement turned to fear when she was told to see the OBGYN asap. She was told that there was problem with her baby and it
