WESTMONT, Ill., Sept. 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Standing up is a routine action that most of us can do without any thought, but Westmont-resident Janet Sutherland-Madden must remind herself every time she plans to stand to follow the advice of her physical therapist: “Nose Over Toes.”
Sutherland’s voice was heard all over Chicago’s airwaves in the 90s as a radio reporter covering Supreme Court Cases, Illinois legislation, health news and prison stories on WMAQ, WLS, WGN, KMOX, UPI Radio and 75 plus radio stations on the Illinois and Wisconsin Radio Networks. Her career flourished as her news stories about the deadly Plainfield/Lemont Tornado and the Joliet Correctional prison escape were broadcast all over other news and radio services. Her expertise in the field eventually landed her syndicated national radio shows and news networks including CNN, CBS and Fox.
But her radio career came to an abrupt halt and her life changed forever on March 22, 2004. On that day, Sutherland called 911 after suffering what she felt to be the “worst headache on the planet”. That headache turned out to be a ruptured brain aneurysm that left her blind and paralyzed with only a three percent chance to live. Sutherland spent the next four months in the hospital with her family and friends by her side helping her recover. During her stay, her father started a journal documenting what was going on and his point of view watching his daughter go through an intense recovery.
Because Sutherland had weakness in her leg, the simple task of standing up was now made more difficult. She learned a technique called “Nose Over Toes” by pushing her nose over her toes which gave her hope of being one step closer to normalcy.
Sutherland has been in rehab for 15 years and will be for the rest of her life as she tries to retrain her brain to perform all the tasks it did every day before her aneurysm. Although she was able to miraculously recover, not everyone does.
With the help of her father’s journals, Sutherland wrote Nose Over Toes, which tells the story of her recovery and includes research from The Brain Aneurysm Foundation.
“In honor of my Dad who died June 25, 2018 and whose journal is part of the book, I created a Research Chair in his honor after he died with the foundation and will be continuing it with some of the proceeds of the sale of the book,” she said.
Sutherland will be participating in the Brain Aneurysm Awareness Walk at the College of DuPage on Sunday, September 15. For more information about the walk, visit https://bafound.org/event/4th-annual-chicago-brain-aneurysm-awareness-walk/.
Brain Aneurysm Facts:
- The federal government only spends approximately $0.83 per year on brain aneurysm research for each person afflicted.
- Women, more than men, suffer from brain aneurysms at a ratio of 3:2.
- African Americans suffer at twice the rate of rupture of whites (a 2.1:1 ratio).
- Hispanics suffer at nearly twice the rate of rupture of whites (a 1.67:1 ratio).
- An estimated 6 million people in the United States have an unruptured brain aneurysm, or 1 in 50 people.
Contact: Chris Martin
The David James Group
630.670.2745
cmartin@davidjamesgroup.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ca08310e-403e-4f55-bc75-76e53c8cfa08.