Ozark man fights for his life in Birmingham hospital; family asks for help
Carl 'Coop' Cooper is a golf-loving Carroll High School alum who is a beloved friend to so many across the Wiregrass.
'He is just a social butterfly,' His girlfriend, Trudi Boyd, said. 'He is just nice to everybody, strong, active, so this really came out of nowhere.
Cooper was rushed to Dale County Medical Center on the Friday before Easter, where he was told he had a tear in his heart.
'It came as a shock because he is always doing something,' Boyd said. 'Always working in the yard, and this just so blindsided us because he takes care of himself, he eats healthy.'
From Dale County Medical, he was taken to UAB Hospital in Birmingham, where doctors gave him medication for the tear, but learned he also had internal bleeding.
After finding the internal bleeding, doctors had to put Cooper on ECMO to control his lungs and heart, on dialysis to help his kidneys, and on a ventilator to help him breathe.
'Each day we see a little bit of progress,' Boyd said. 'He's on the lowest doses of everything. He's fighting hard, but he is still in critical care.'
Boyd said he is fighting so that he can return to Wiregrass and continue living the life he loves.
'We got a lot left to do, you know he still has a lot of life left in him and a lot of life left to live, and we just want to bring him home so we can continue down that path,' Boyd said.
Boyd says that the last nine days have been very hard watching her boyfriend go through this, but it is also leaving an impact on their finances.
It has taken Boyd away from her job at The Village Inn in Newton, and Cooper is retired and on a fixed income.
'Of course, you have to pay for everything. Parking, food, and I have been staying in the room with him,' Boyd said. 'Any help would be greatly appreciated. We have no idea how long he is going to be here.'
This hospital stay has left the couple looking for help from the community, which they have already received in small doses.
'Just shows you the kind of people that there are in the community, and when things happen like this, they come together, it's really amazing to see,' Boyd said. 'I know it's in God's hands and he's fighting. We are not going to give up on him, I know he's not going to give up.'
Friends of the couple are raising money to help them during their time in Birmingham, while The Village Inn is also collecting donations.
Boyd is also collecting donations through her Venmo (@Trudi-Boyd), PayPal (trudileigh70), and Cash App ($TrudiBoyd).
Boyd says if people still want to help, they can also keep the family in their thoughts and prayers.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
10 hours ago
- The Hill
Tick-borne disease spreads, causing meat, dairy allergies
Emergency room visits have spiked across the Midwest this summer as millions of Americans grapple with tick bites, but a lesser-known tick-borne illness is causing particular alarm in some communities. Alpha-gal syndrome, transmitted by the lone star tick, creates severe allergies to meat and dairy products that can last for years. The condition essentially forces people to adopt vegan diets, with some patients experiencing life-threatening reactions even to the smell of cooking meat. The lone star tick, identifiable by a white dot on the female's back, is most common from Maine to Florida and in Texas, living primarily in wooded and grassy areas. These ticks carry a sugar molecule called alpha-gal that, when transmitted to humans, triggers severe allergic reactions to mammalian products. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates as many as 450,000 people in the U.S. may have it. Patients report reactions so severe that smelling burgers on a grill can cause unconsciousness. The syndrome also affects everyday items containing animal byproducts, including lip balms, lotions and some bottled water, causing hives, coughing and wheezing. Cases have become so widespread on Martha's Vineyard that restaurants there now offer special alpha-gal menus, according to report from The New York Times. Nicole Cooper of Virginia, diagnosed with alpha-gal syndrome in December 2021, experienced symptoms for more than a year before receiving proper diagnosis. She was rushed to an emergency room unable to breathe, where doctors recognized a recurring rash on her arms. 'I was shocked when they wanted to run the blood test,' Cooper told NewsNation's ' Elizabeth Vargas Reports.' 'I was, like, no, no, I really hate ticks,' she continued. 'I always wear my bug repellent when I'm out in the woods.' She became 'fume reactive,' unable to be around cooking meat or use cast iron pans previously used for meat. Even products such as dryer balls containing lanolin, derived from sheep, became off-limits. The delayed reaction between exposure and symptoms makes alpha-gal syndrome particularly difficult to diagnose and treat. Cooper remained highly reactive for two years before her symptoms began improving through strict avoidance of mammalian products.
Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Potempa: Blessed with a 96-year-old father on the mend from heart surgery
In an April 11, 2007 newspaper column that is included in my 'Further From the Farm' cookbook published in 2010, I detailed my dad's experience with open-heart surgery and thanked readers for their e-mails, cards, and voicemails I received wishing him well. My father came through bypass surgery after spending six hours in the operating room at the University of Chicago Hospital. He was attended by heart-care specialists, including his surgeon Dr. Valluvan Jeevanandam, who were able to repair his leaking heart valve rather than having to replace it. My mom and siblings visited him in the intensive care unit every day, and he had the constant care of a private nurse at his side, which led us to be hopeful and confident he would continue to improve. That column ended with a reader recipe for Greek roast lamb, since that was the menu choice Dad wanted for Easter family dinner, which happened to be the day before his surgery. Last week, my 96-year-old dad Chester found himself back at the University of Chicago Hospital 18 years later at the advice of his cardiologist in Valparaiso, Dr. Maya Kommineni, and his general physician, Dr. Hector Marchand Jr. In recent months, tests showed my dad's heart was in need of a valve replacement. This time it was the associates of Dr. Jeevanandam, such as Dr. Atman Shah and Dr. Takeyoshi Ota who responsible for the much less invasive procedure of nearly three hours accessing the heart and arteries through the groin rather than breaking the rib cage. Dad spent three days in the intensive care unit before being moved to regular floor unit room and then sprung this weekend for some helpful rehab. The Aug. 17 Sunday date of this weekend is my mom Peggy's 94th birthday, and her best gift this year is that Dad's surgery went well and he's on the road to recovery. Last Sunday's dinner on Aug. 10 was my dad's last full family meal before we transported him to Chicago. His menu wish this time was far simpler than the roast lamb with rosemary and mint jelly. He asked for a hearty farm summer menu of Sloppy Joes on sesame seed buns, with smoked provolone cheese slices, sweet bread and butter pickle chips, mustard potato salad and fresh peaches and cream variety boiled sweet corn with a cold dessert finale of ice cream cones. Faithful friend and reader Diane Traher of Dyer makes the most delicious Sloppy Joes, a near tie with the scrumptious recipe from our late neighbor farm wife Joann Scamerhorn, which I printed in this column in 2016. Diane's recipe dates back to 1952 and comes from a small treasured hardcover cookbook titled 'The Anniversary Slovak-American Cook Book,' described as 'a commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the first Catholic Slavic Ladies Association,' which was launched in 1892 in Cleveland, Ohio. 1 pound ground beef 1 large chopped onion 1 chopped green pepper 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon mustard 1 tablespoon vinegar 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup ketchup Directions: 1. Brown meat in a tablespoon of hot fat until it is crumbly but not hard. 2. Combine and add remaining ingredients. 3. Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes. 4. Serve on toasted buns.
Medscape
08-08-2025
- Medscape
Does Getting Fit Guard Against Colorectal Cancer?
Evidence continues to mount that building cardiovascular fitness can help lower an individual's risk for colorectal cancer (CRC). The latest study — a sweeping analysis of 643,583 individuals, with more than 8000 cases of CRC and 10 years follow-up — found a consistent, inverse, and graded association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and the risk for the development of CRC — a benefit similar for men and women and across races. CRC risk was 9% lower for each 1-metabolic equivalent (MET) task increase in CRF, objectively measured by an exercise treadmill test. When assessed across CRF categories, there was a progressive decline in CRC risk with higher CRF, Aamir Ali, MD, and colleagues with Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, DC, found. Compared with the least fit individuals (METs, 4.8), the CRC risk was 14% lower in those falling in the low-fit CRF category (METs, 7.3), 27% lower for moderately fit people (METs, 8.6), 41% lower for fit individuals (METs, 10.5), and 57% lower for high-fit individuals (METs, 13.6). Moderate CRF is attainable by most middle-aged and older individuals, by engaging in moderate-intensity physical activity such as brisk walking, which aligns with current national guidelines, the authors said. The study was published online on July 28 in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The results dovetail with earlier work. For example, in the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study, men with high mid-life CRF had a 44% lower risk for CRC and a 32% lower risk of dying from cancer later in life men with low CRF. A recent meta-analysis for the World Cancer Research Fund estimated a 16% lower risk for colon cancer in people with the highest levels of recreational physical activity relative to those with the lowest levels. A recent UK Biobank analysis using accelerometers linked higher daily movement to a 26% reduction in risk across multiple cancers, including bowel cancer. Taken together, the data suggest that 'the more you exercise, the better your overall health is going to be — not just your cardiac fitness but also your overall risk of cancer,' Joel Saltzman, MD, medical oncologist at Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center, Cleveland, noted in an interview with Medscape Medical News . Can You Outrun CRC Risk? In the US, CRC is the second leading cause of cancer mortality, accounting for 51,896 deaths in 2019. The economic burden of CRC in the US is significant, topping $24 billion annually. And while the incidence of colon cancer has decreased in older individuals during the past 3 decades, the incidence in younger adults has nearly doubled during the same period, 'underscoring the limitations of screening programs and the critical need for risk factor modification,' Ali and colleagues wrote. 'There is good evidence that exercise and healthy lifestyle/diet have significant benefit overall and as well for some potential risk reduction for colon cancer,' David Johnson, MD, professor of medicine and chief of gastroenterology, Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia, told Medscape Medical News. 'There are clearly suggestions of why this makes sense via the beneficial effects of exercise and physical activity in CRC pathways including but not limited to regulation of inflammation and aberrant cell growth/cancer pathways,' Johnson said. He emphasized, however, that exercise and lifestyle are not the best way to prevent CRC. 'Appropriate screening, in particular by colonoscopy (by skilled physicians who meet high-quality performance national benchmarks) to detect and remove precancerous polyps, is the best approach for prevention,' Johnson said. 'At this point — albeit exercise is potentially helpful and a great general recommendation — my most current advice as an expert in the field, is that you cannot outrun CRC risk,' Johnson said. Can You Outrun CRC Recurrence? Prevention aside, the data thus far are even more supportive of risk reduction for patients who have had CRC and are targeting reduction of recurrence, Johnson said. Perhaps the most compelling study was recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The CHALLENGE trial enrolled patients with resected stage II or III colon cancer who had completed their adjuvant chemotherapy. Patients with recurrences within a year of diagnosis were excluded, as they were more likely to have highly aggressive, biologically active disease. Participants were randomized to receive healthcare education materials alone or in conjunction with a structured exercise program over a 3-year follow-up period. The focus of the exercise intervention was increasing recreational aerobic activity over baseline by at least 10 METs — essentially the equivalent of adding about 45-60 minutes of brisk walking or 25-30 minutes of jogging three to four times a week. At a median follow-up of nearly 8 years, exercise reduced the relative risk for disease recurrence, new primary cancer, or death by 28% ( P = .02). 'This benefit persisted — and even strengthened — over time, with disease-free survival increasing by 6.4 and 7.1 percentage points at 5 and 8 years, respectively,' Johnson noted in a Medscape commentary. The CHALLENGE results are 'very compelling,' Bishal Gyawali, MD, PhD, associate professor of oncology at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, noted in a separate Medscape commentary. 'If you compare these results with results from other trials, you'll see that this is a no-brainer. If this were a drug, you would want to use it today,' Gyawali said. Saltzman told Medscape Medical News patients often ask him what they can do to help prevent their cancer from coming back. 'I would sort of say, 'Well, eat a healthy diet and exercise,' but I didn't have a lot of good evidence to support it.' The CHALLENGE study provides 'the proof in the pudding.' With these strong data, 'it almost feels like I should be able to write a prescription for my patient to join an exercise program and that their insurance should cover it,' Saltzman said.
