Kansas' Phil Ehart has major heart attack; Bears' Steve McMichael needs blood transfusion; Jay McInerney has brain surgery; Toni Braxton's near-fatal health scare; Amy Schumer's "puffy, swollen face"
"Sutton Stracke suffers terrifying medical emergency while filming ‘RHOBH’ reunion"; triathlete Lesley Patterson's husband has Stage 4 pancreatic cancer; soap star Lana Clay's "rare disorder"; more
UNITED STATES
Rock band Kansas to carry on after its drummer, Phil Ehart, suffers a major heart attack
February 23, 2024
Topeka native Phil Ehart, the drummer and manager for the progressive rock band Kansas, recently survived a major heart attack, the group announced Friday on its Facebook page. Ehart, 73, is taking time away from the band's 50th anniversary tour, titled "Another Fork in the Road," as he recovers, that page said. "There is no timetable for his return to the road," it said. "While not on the road, Phil is remaining in a prominent role with Kansas during his recovery, serving as band manager, as he has done for 40 years," the band's Facebook page added.
Author Jay McInerney recovering from brain surgery after ‘bloody’ incident at home — but finished a novel, smuggled champagne into ICU
February 21, 2024
Jay McInerney — the literary enfant terrible and chronicler of ’80s Yuppie excess, who later became Town & Country’s wine critic and a member of America’s foremost families himself — has just polished off his latest novel while dramatically recuperating from emergency brain surgery. The author had a dizzy spell and fell, only to wake up the next morning to find “blood all over the bedroom, the bathroom, the hallway, the bed and the pillow.” “A CAT scan eventually revealed two Subdural hematomas inside my skull,” he wrote. “I was pretty dizzy and my vision was blurry and sometimes doubled and the next few weeks are a little vague. So I apologize if I kind of disappeared during recent weeks. Email got ignored. I tried to make lists but it didn’t really help. I forgot to look at the lists. And I took a lot of naps, a talent I never really possessed before.” He had a “two-hour brain procedure” as a result. But after that, “My CAT scan to check on the procedure two weeks later wasn’t too good,” recalls McInerney in his missive. “I was just on my way out to dinner last Monday night when I got a call from the hospital insisting that I go to the emergency room immediately. Naturally, I said, ‘Well, can’t I go to dinner first?'” While McInerney swore to pals, “I will try to act like a normal convalescent for a while. Can’t promise that will last for too long” in the letter, he nevertheless told us when reached for comment on Tuesday that he’s “been writing like a fiend,” and, “actually finished a novel a few days ago.”
No age reported.
Amy Schumer breaks silence over ‘puffy and swollen’ face and admits health battle
February 16, 2024
Amy Schumer has broken her silence after she sparked concern with her "puffy and swollen" face this week. A clip quickly went viral after Amy, 42, appeared on Wednesday's episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. She wrote on social media: "Thank you so much for everyone’s input about my face. I’ve enjoyed feedback and deliberation about my appearance as all women do for almost 20 years. And you’re right, it is puffier than normal right now." The Hollywood star explained: "I have endometriosis, an autoimmune disease that every woman should read about. There are some medical and hormonal things going on in my world right now but I’m okay.”
Toni Braxton says she 'dismissed' symptoms that could've led to heart attack
February 21, 2024
Toni Braxton faced an almost fatal health scare several months ago. The “Un-Break My Heart” singer is sharing exclusively with the TODAY show how systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) “attacked” her heart and she needed to have a coronary stent placed to prevent a heart attack. “It (was) put in at a really, really scary moment,” the 55-year-old tells TODAY, adding that the experience felt “surreal.” Braxton is a paid spokesperson with Aurinia Pharmaceuticals' Get Uncomfortable campaign, which encourages people living with lupus nephritis, a common complication of SLE, to complete routine testing to prevent kidney damage. Braxton tells TODAY that she had a doctor’s appointment she was considering skipping because she thought she was “fine.” Still, she went, and her doctor told her she needed a stent (a device used to hold open passages in the body) placed “immediately," she says. “A couple days after they did the procedure they told me that it was touch and go,” Braxton told TODAY's Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. The Grammy winner was experiencing chest pains indicating something was off with her health, but she thought they were from grief over the death of her sister Traci, who passed away in March 2022, TODAY.com reported. Braxton says that if she hadn't gone to the doctor, she could've had widow-maker heart attack, a type of heart attack that occurs when someone has a complete blockage of the left anterior descending artery, the largest artery in the heart, according to the Cleveland Clinic. “I would have had a massive heart attack and would not have survived,” she says.
Sutton Stracke suffers terrifying medical emergency while filming ‘RHOBH’ reunion
February 21, 2024
Sutton Stracke suffered a health emergency while taping the Season 13 reunion of the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” In the trailer released Wednesday, the socialite is sitting next to host Andy Cohen and fellow co-star Garcelle Beauvais when former “friend” of the cast Kathy Hilton walks in, shocking the “Housewives.” As the fashion designer walks to sit next to her sister Kyle Richards, everyone stares at her before Stracke starts gasping for air in a seemingly unrelated incident. When the camera pans over to Stracke, the 52-year-old is struggling to breathe and leaning into Beauvais, who is holding on to her. She also begins to shake which Cohen points out as he tries to fan her with his cue cards before her hands swell up to the point of turning purple. “Can we call somebody please?” an alarmed Beauvais asks as Stracke looks around disoriented. “You’re shaking, you’re shaking, you are really shaking,” Cohen also tells her before a paramedic — as well as certified registered nurse anesthetist Annemarie Wiley — come over to her. “Oh my God, that’s scary,” Dorit Kemsley says before the trailer ends. Although it’s unclear what exactly happened to Stracke, it appears that she’s recovered since she recently jetted off to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with her son and his friends.
Daughter-In-Law Of Cheng Pei Pei Diagnosed With Stage 4 Breast Cancer 5 Months After Having First Kid
February 17, 2024
Thanksgiving is a time to count your blessings, but host Harry Yuan and his wife Andrea Loeffler, son and daughter-in-law of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star Cheng Pei Pei, could not have received worse news. 39-year-old Andrea, a chef and artist, was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, just five months after giving birth to their first child Kai in June. Earlier this week, Harry, 38, took to Instagram to reveal the heartbreaking news, saying it came as a huge shock to them as they are both very health conscious. It was also a particularly a huge blow as they had just welcomed their son and had to wean him over a year earlier than expected. For Andrea, the past few months have been a rollercoaster of emotions to say the least. She had always longed to be a mother but “never thought it would look like this”. The cancer is "fast growing" and has spread to Andrea's lymph system, and finding the right treatments has been a “rollercoaster ride”. Andrea began treatment last month, integrating both western and eastern medicine.
Tragedy for Hollywood's latest rising star: Five-time triathlon world champ Lesley Patterson was the toast of Tinseltown after writing Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front - but her career has now come to a tragic halt
February 24, 2024
Eleven months ago, five-times world champion triathlete Lesley Paterson was on top of the world.
The screenwriter was the toast of Hollywood as the movie she fought to be adapted for the big screen, ‘All Quiet on the Western Front,’ won four Oscars, including best foreign film.
The First World War movie won a record seven BAFTAs, including best film and best adapted screenplay.
But Ms Paterson's Hollywood dreams came to a screeching halt at the end of last year when her sports psychologist husband of 22-years, Dr. Simon Marshall, was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
In a moving post on Instagram, the couple - who moved to California to pursue their movie dreams full-time - vowed to beat the devastating diagnosis with Ms. Paterson saying: '2023 was filled with the biggest of bigs, the highest of highs, the lowest of lows.
The mother of General Hospital's Joey and Jay Clay has been diagnosed with a rare disorder
February 21, 2024
Lana Clay is the mother of Joey and Jay Clay the adorable twins who portray Ace Cassadine on General Hospital. Soap Hub says Lana recently shared a health update on X related to being diagnosed with the rare adrenal deficiency disorder Addison's disease. Soap Hub reported earlier that Mark Clay revealed that his wife spent time in the ICU because of sepsis and very low blood pressure. Lana is now at home and posted this message on X.
No age reported.
Bears great Steve McMichael contracts another infection, undergoes blood transfusion, family says
February 17, 2024
Chicago Bears great Steve McMichael has contracted another infection and was undergoing a blood transfusion days after being admitted into intensive care at a suburban Chicago hospital, his family said in a statement Saturday. The family said the 66-year-old McMichael — who went public with an ALS diagnosis three years ago — contracted MRSA, a staph infection that can be difficult to treat because it is resistant to certain antibiotics. McMichael was hospitalized Thursday with what was initially thought to be pneumonia. He was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection. The family said Friday he was responding to antibiotics and was having fluid removed from his lungs, and he was expected to be released in the coming days. McMichael was diagnosed with ALS in 2021.
A Disney cast member who suffered a devastating fall during a live performance inspired by Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (1991) over the weekend is reportedly “fighting for her life.”
February 14, 2024
On Saturday, 31-year-old Anastasia Olsen, a professional ice skater who portrays Belle in the Beauty and the Beast-inspired performance for Disney on Ice, was seriously injured when she suffered a devastating fall during Disney’s Magic in the Stars show at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to eye-witness accounts, Olsen appeared “shaky” before her fall, just as she was being lifted into the air as part of the performance she shared with another actor who portrayed Beast in the show. Other witnesses say the actress began exhibiting signs of seizure immediately following the accident, though it’s not clear whether Olsen did, in fact, suffer a seizure. Olsen’s fall prompted immediate emergency medical attention, and paramedics quickly arrived and transported the actress to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.
My new insult nowadays isn't an f word. I say "ah, go & get vaxxed"! Or "vax off"!
The horror and denial continues.