Latest news with #Kimmelstiel
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘That was the last place I would look at': NH mom, two daughters share rare medical condition
A New Hampshire mom suffered two strokes at a young age. After she got her heart checked, she decided to get her entire family checked. What the team at Tufts detected was incredibly rare. 'I feel like the whole thing happened so that I could have them checked,' said Heather Strong of New Boston, New Hampshire. She's feeling healthy and grateful now—-but that's how the New Hampshire mom felt even before she had her first stroke at 47 years old. 'My arm was just swinging in front of me and so when I grabbed it, it was all numb and I was like, you know, what's happening and as I was trying to compute what was happening, my right leg also gave out and so I just fell on the floor and just was there with my whole right side was just numb,' said Heather. Luckily for Heather, after a few minutes she got the feeling back. A nurse herself, Heather knew something wasn't right, even though she lived a healthy lifestyle and was a former three sport athlete and avid hiker. 'I always you know really put my heart to the test for my whole life,' said Heather. 'So I didn't suspect anything with my heart. Like that was the last place I would look at.' Despite not having any of the classic risk factors for a stroke, Dr. Carey Kimmelstiel at Tufts Medical Center found Heather had a couple of holes in her heart—a rare condition known as Atrial Septal Defect. 'One in every 2,000 live births, you know the majority of those will be picked up in childhood,' said Dr. Carey Kimmelstiel, with interventional cardiology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. 'And one thing you can say for sure is that the earlier you close them, the better the patients do.' Instead of open heart surgery--in 2016 the FDA approved an ASD closure device--to close the hole in a quick, outpatient procedure. 'And we were like the leading center in terms of enrolling those trials and implanting devices in a study that believe it or not went on for nine years and was ultimately shown to decrease the incidence of recurrent stroke,' Dr. Kimmelstiel. Dr. Kimmelstiel implanted the tiny metal device to help close the holes in Heather's heart—-but little did he know—she wasn't the only Strong family member he'd have to treat. Heather strong 'He was like you can have them checked,' said Heather. 'And I kind of took that as I'm getting them checked and you're doing it now.' Out of Heather's three adult daughters the Tufts team learned two of them also had holes in their hearts. Both Emma and Molly also decided to get the same procedure as their mother. 'So we went on the same day and our procedure was back to back,' said Emma Strong. 'I went first and she was after. It was kind of fun. Yeah, like it was a little outing to Boston.' And they also had Dr. Kimmelstiel overseeing it all. 'It was very quick, I didn't feel any pain,' said Molly Strong. Just as rare as the condition, is the same doctor performing the procedure on three family members... 'I've been doing this a while, a long time, and it's you know, you can count on one hand,' said Dr. Kimmelstiel. The Strong family is hoping their ASD devices will prevent any future strokes—and keep their hearts strong from here on out after learning a valuable lesson. 'I would just say it's better to know than to not know, like go get checked if anything you have concerns and figure it out, face it head on rather than be worried about what it could be,' said Emma. ASD is twice as common in women as it is in men and there may be some genetic component to it, but Dr. Kimmelstiel says more studies need to be done. By filling holes in the heart, the device also prevents heart failure and pulmonary hypertension. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
CBS News
14-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
97-year-old Holocaust survivor's wish of attending college comes true
Holocaust survivor gets her "Golden Wish" to attend college in the Bronx Holocaust survivor gets her "Golden Wish" to attend college in the Bronx Holocaust survivor gets her "Golden Wish" to attend college in the Bronx Tuesday was a day to remember for a 97-year-old Holocaust survivor who got to live out her dream of going to college. Jacqueline Kimmelstiel was quick to become popular during her first and only day at the University of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx. She instantly became a favorite among her teachers as she took part in one-on-one lessons learning poetry and French. She also became an honorary captain for a basketball scrimmage, later jokingly admitting that sports were not her favorite. "No, no, no, not so much. No. I mean, I'll tell you the truth, so I'm not gonna lie," she said. Her day as a University of Mount Saint Vincent student was completed by receiving a Certificate of Achievement from Susan Burns, the school's president. Senior facility played a huge role in Kimmelstiel's big day Kimmelstiel was able to see her dream come true, thanks to RiverSpring Living, her home senior facility. Wendy Steinberg, the facility's chief communications officer, said RiverSpring launched a new program called "Golden Wishes" to help many of its residents achieve or participate in things they didn't have a chance to do during their younger years. "We ask them, what did you never have the chance to do? What did you never experience? And for Jacqueline, it has always bothered her that she only went to school until age 12. So we said, you know what? We can make this happen," Steinberg said. College for a day turned into a family affair Kimmelstiel was unable to continue her education due to being forced into hiding while moving throughout France. She later came to the United States in the late 1940s and worked as a seamstress. She also ended up meeting her husband, who was at Auschwitz. Kimmelstiel's grandchildren, Jonah Kimmelstiel and Rebecca Kevelson, joined her for her day as a college student. "Education was always something that was very important to our grandmother. Both her sons, my father and our uncle, became medical doctors. And all of us, you know, went to college and beyond professional school," Jonah Kimmelstiel said. For Kimmelstiel's grandchildren, being able to watch the 97-year-old achieve so much in one day was an honor. "Having gone through the horrors of what she and our grandfather went through as Holocaust survivors, and now she has four great grandchildren and a college degree, is almost really special," Kevelson said. Although Kimmelstiel was a student only briefly, she said she yearns to learn. "How wonderful it is to be so well liked, and all these beautiful things. And, I know that my late husband would be so proud," she said. You can email Erica with Bronx story ideas by CLICKING HERE.
New York Post
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Holocaust survivor, 97, forced out of school when Nazis invaded granted ‘golden wish' to finally go to college: ‘It felt like I grew up'
She just got life's greatest lesson. A Holocaust survivor who was forced out of school at age 12 as World War II raged in Europe finally got her long-deferred wish of going to college — enjoying a day of classes and even attending a basketball game in the Bronx. As a young girl, Jacqueline Kimmelstiel, 97, fled to escape persecution after Germany invaded France during the war, hiding from the Nazis with nuns at a convent. She wasn't allowed to return to school after 6th grade, which as a lover of learning she always regretted even more than 80 years later. Advertisement 10 Holocaust survivor Jacqueline Kimmelstiel, 97, was able to fulfill a lifelong dream by attending a day of classes at Elizabeth Seton College in the Bronx. Robert Miller But on Tuesday, Kimmelstiel had the chance to live out her lifelong goal, as the inaugural recipient of Hebrew Home RiverSpring Living's 'golden wish' program, which makes dreams come true for its residents. 'It felt like I grew up finally,' a beaming Kimmelstiel told The Post after her day of attending one-on-one English and French classes at the University of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale. Advertisement 'They didn't allow us to go to school. I always wanted this, I've always missed this,' she said. The nonagenarian started her day with an English Literature class, where Dr. Leonard Nalencz read her a poem that stirred up her emotions. 'I don't usually enjoy poetry this much, but this one is written beautifully and you really feel the love in the air,' she shared. 10 Kimmelstiel with a book of poetry she read at an English Literature class. Robert Miller Advertisement Her second session of the day was a French class led by Dr. Severine Rebourcet, which gave Kimmelstiel a chance to dust off her foreign language skills she picked up in her youth. 'I spoke French for a long time because I lived in France. I don't get to speak it [usually], but I never forgot it,' she said. Kimmelstiel then attended a scrimmage basketball game where she delivered the ball to center court as an honorary coach. After the game she was presented with a sweatshirt and told she was an 'official Dolphin' — the school's team mascot. 10 Kimmelstiel watching a basketball game at Elizabeth Seton College. Robert Miller Advertisement 10 One of the basketball players speaking with Kimmelstiel, who served as the game's honorary coach. Robert Miller 'The game was amazing,' she said, though she admitted she was never big into sports. After making the rounds at the school. Kimmelstiel's day ended with a graduation ceremony, where the president of the school and officials dressed in full regalia and presented her with an official college certificate. The golden wish came to be after RiverSpring Living's chief communications officer learned of her desire to get a taste for academics which had eluded her for so long. 'She told me that for many years it bothered her that she only went to school until age 12, and so we said, OK, we can do something about that,' Wendy Steinberg told The Post. 10 Kimmelstiel as a 1-year-old with her 4-year-old brother Pierre in 1928 in Frankfurt, Germany. Obtained by the NY Post 10 Kimmelstiel with her husband Albert. Obtained by the NY Post 'We called the President of University of Mount St. Vincent and told her about Jacqueline and her dream to go to school, and they made it happen, and this is an experience of a lifetime for her, and one that she'll never forget.' Advertisement Kimmelstiel came to live in the US in 1947, where she worked as a seamstress and eventually met her husband, who survived Auschwitz. Her grandchildren, Jonah Kimmelstiel and Rebecca Kevelson, who read poems to their grandmother during her literature class, spoke glowingly of their grandmother's college experience. 'Education was always something that was very important to our grandmother … throughout our life, education was the most important thing, so it's not surprising that her golden wish would be to go to college,' Jonah told The Post. 10 Kimmelstiel said that her late husband Albert would be proud of her. Family photo 'I think there's no greater accomplishment for her than not only to see her graduate college, but also to have her with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.' Advertisement Her granddaughter Rebecca said she remembered her grandma saying at her college graduation how lucky she was to have the opportunity. 'That right was taken away from her without her choice. So I know I've spoken about it for years when I tell her story of surviving the Holocaust and how she wasn't even allowed to go to high school, let alone College,' she said. 10 Kimmelstiel speaking with students in a hall of Elizabeth Seton College. Robert Miller 10 Kimmelstiel was only able to attend school until she was 12 years old. Robert Miller Advertisement 'Having gone through the horrors of what she and our grandfather went through as Holocaust survivors, and now she has four great-grandchildren and a college degree almost, that's really special.' As university president Susan R. Burns presented Kimmelstiel with her college degree, she lauded her for her tenaciousness. 'As a survivor of the Holocaust, she endured unimaginable loss, cruelty and hardship, yet Jacqueline never surrendered her faith in humanity or promise for a better future,' she said. 10 Elizabeth Seton College president Susan R. Burns presenting Kimmelstiel with a degree. Robert Miller Advertisement 'One of the dreams that sustained Jacqueline through those years and the years that followed was the hope of a college education … Today, we do more than confer contract with a special certificate, we acknowledge a dream long deferred but never extinguished. We are proud to make Jacqueline's dream a reality today.' After receiving her degree, Kimmelstiel looked at her degree with a smile and said, 'I just want to tell you how wonderful it is to be so well liked and to see all these beautiful things.' 'I know my late husband would be so proud. He was always (into) sports and all these things. Unfortunately, he's not with us anymore, but I take it all in his place.'
