2026年1月31日 / 美国东部时间上午8:00 / CBS新闻
警探中士克里斯·约翰逊（Chris Johnson）一直很注重健康。他知道自己有高血压家族史，因此确保保持活跃并饮食健康。他在伊利诺伊州巴特利特市（Bartlett, Illinois）警察局的工作让他常年奔波。除了在办公桌前工作或陪伴妻子和两个孩子外，他要么在健身房锻炼，要么打篮球。
去年3月的一个周日是难得的清闲日子。他和家人一起放松，看了会儿电视，然后早早上床睡觉。躺下后不久，他开始感到胸痛。他以为是肌肉抽筋，便去厨房拿了些冰袋。
“我没有感到恶心、头痛或其他症状，”约翰逊告诉CBS新闻，“我记得当时感觉特别热。我走到厨房，然后基本上就倒下了。”
幸运的是，约翰逊的妻子跟着他进了厨房。当他摔倒时，冰袋散落一地，她立刻采取行动并拨打了911。约翰逊说，医护人员在两分钟内就赶到了他家。他被迅速送往当地医院，随后又被空运到芝加哥的西北纪念医院（Northwestern Memorial Hospital）。医生们紧急为他进行了长达六小时的心脏直视手术，这一手术挽救了他的生命。
当约翰逊醒来时，医生告诉他，他经历了主动脉夹层（aortic dissection）——即人体主要动脉撕裂，导致大量内出血。根据《美国心脏病学会杂志》（Journal of the American College of Cardiology）的数据，这种疾病罕见且常致命，每年约有1.3万人因此丧生。生存取决于撕裂的位置、大小以及治疗的及时性。
克里斯·约翰逊在主动脉夹层手术后的医院照片。克里斯·约翰逊
“如果这个裂口再大两毫米，就会立刻致命，”约翰逊说。
“我的外科医生有一次进来向我解释病情。听完后，你会想，‘天哪，这太严重了。比我想象的要严重得多’，”他继续说道，“而这一切都始于一个晚上。我是说，在我去纹身的前一个周六，一切都还正常。然后两天后，我就真的在与死神搏斗了。”
绝境中的康复
主动脉夹层最终只是约翰逊健康问题的开始。手术后，他的心律出现异常。医生需要用除颤器给他电击三次才能保持稳定。约翰逊还经历了两次中风、因腿部血栓引发的两次肺栓塞以及肺炎。他说，两次中风导致他右臂瘫痪。
“有一次，他们确实告诉我的妻子，在经历了中风和其他所有医疗问题后，我可能撑不过去了，”约翰逊说。
在重症监护室（ICU）待了10天后，约翰逊被转移到西北大学玛丽乔伊康复医院（Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital）。他开始接受物理治疗，并迅速达到了康复里程碑。但职业治疗却更为艰难。他和职业治疗师贝丝·博萨克（Beth Bosak）花了三个月时间训练他的精细运动技能。
克里斯·约翰逊与职业治疗师贝丝·博萨克在玛丽乔伊康复医院合作。西北大学医学玛丽乔伊康复医院
当他们刚开始合作时，约翰逊的手臂“几乎无法移动”，手也“没有任何反应”，博萨克说。他希望能够重新获得使用公务武器的资格，并能照顾自己的大型犬。博萨克将个性化锻炼与经典职业治疗技术相结合，制定了一套定制计划。很快，约翰逊就取得了进步。
“有一阵子，我不愿意相信自己的伤势有那么严重。这很难接受。第一天，我走进那里，就想，‘我不想这样，我做不到’，”约翰逊说，“我的治疗师们非常棒。确实有很多艰难的日子，但一切都很值得。一开始，我以为‘我永远不可能恢复正常了’。但现在我做到了——简直是奇迹，我回来了。”
“不要忽视这些征兆”
在康复期间，约翰逊在工作中承担了较轻的任务，即坐在办公桌前工作而非外出执勤。8月，距离完成职业治疗仅10周后，他被允许重返全勤工作。他说，这是一个重要的里程碑。
“我感觉棒极了，非常好，”约翰逊说，“现在我们就在这里。”
克里斯·约翰逊在巴特利特警察局。西北大学医学玛丽乔伊康复医院
约翰逊重返工作岗位，肩负着额外的使命。他成为了高血压和心脏健康意识的倡导者，尤其关注黑人男性和高压职业从业者。他表示，经常建议同事检查轻微症状。
“我们从事的执法职业是高压、充满挑战的工作，对吧？”约翰逊说，“我们像是在观看世界上最精彩的表演，但如果我们不照顾好自己，就可能陷入这样的境地。现在我更像是‘去做心脏扫描’之类的倡导者。我希望把‘倾听自己、不要忽视征兆、去看医生做检查’这样的理念带给我的部门和其他从事这类职业或任何高压职业的人。”
A police officer thought he had a muscle cramp. He ended up fighting for his life.
January 31, 2026 / 8:00 AM EST / CBS News
Detective Sergeant Chris Johnson always kept his health in mind. He knew he had a family history of high blood pressure, so he made sure to stay active and eat well. His job with the Bartlett, Illinois, police force kept him on his feet. When he wasn’t at his desk or spending time with his wife and two children, he was in the gym or playing basketball.
One Sunday last March was a rare, slow day. He had spent it relaxing with his family and watching some TV before heading to bed early. Shortly after lying down, he began to feel a chest ache. Believing it was a muscle cramp, he went to the kitchen for some ice.
“I didn’t feel nauseated, headache, or anything,” Johnson told CBS News. “I remember getting really hot. I went to my kitchen, and then I basically collapsed.”
Luckily, Johnson’s wife had followed him into the kitchen. When he fell, scattering ice across the floor, she leapt into action and called 911. Paramedics arrived at the house in under two minutes, Johnson said. He was sped to an area hospital, then airlifted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Doctors rushed him into a six-hour open-heart surgery. The procedure saved his life.
When Johnson awoke, doctors told him he had experienced an aortic dissection, which is when the body’s main artery tears, causing massive internal bleeding. The condition is rare and often fatal, killing about 13,000 people per year, according to the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Survival depends on the location and size of the tear and how fast treatment is received.
Sgt. Chris Johnson in the hospital after an aortic dissection. Chris Johnson
“If this tear was two millimeters bigger, it would have been instantly fatal,” Johnson said.
“My surgeon came in at one point and he was explaining it to me. After you hear it, you’re like, ‘Oh man, this is serious. This is a lot. This is a lot more serious than I thought’,” he continued. “And it all stemmed from one night. I mean, the Saturday before I went and got a couple tattoos. Everything was normal. And then two days later, you’re fighting for your life, literally.”
A recovery “against all odds”
The dissection wound up being just the first of Johnson’s health troubles. After his surgery, his heart rhythm became abnormal. Doctors needed to shock him with a defibrillator three times to keep him stable. Johnson also had two strokes, two pulmonary embolisms caused by blood clots in his legs, and pneumonia. His right arm was paralyzed by the strokes, he said.
“At one point, they did tell my wife that they didn’t think I was going to make it after going through the strokes and all those other medical issues,” Johnson said.
After 10 days in the ICU, Johnson was transferred to Northwestern’s Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital. He started physical therapy and quickly hit his milestones. But occupational therapy proved tougher. He and occupational therapist Beth Bosak spent three months working on his fine motor skills.
Sgt. Chris Johnson and occupational therapist Beth Bosak work together at Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital. Northwestern Medicine Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital
When they first began working together, Johnson’s arm “barely moved” and his hand was “not really responding,” Bosak said. He wanted to get cleared to use his service weapon again and be able to manage his large dog. Bosak blended personalized exercises and classic occupational therapy techniques to create a custom plan. Soon, Johnson was making progress.
“For a while, I didn’t want to believe that my injury was as serious as it was. That was hard for me to believe. Day one, I walked in there, and I was like, ‘I don’t want to, I can’t do this,’” Johnson said. “My therapists were amazing. There were tough days, absolutely, but it was amazing. In the beginning, I thought, ‘There’s no way I am ever going to ever get back to normal.’ And now I am — against all odds, I guess. I’m back.”
“Don’t ignore those signs”
During his rehabilitation, Johnson had been on light duties at work, meaning that he was at his desk instead of out in the field. In August, just 10 weeks after finishing occupational therapy, he was cleared to return to full duty. It was an important milestone, he said.
“I was like, ‘I feel amazing. I feel good,’” Johnson said. “Now here we are.”
Sgt. Chris Johnson at the Bartlett Police Department. Northwestern Medicine Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital
Johnson returned to work with an extra mission. He has become an advocate for hypertension and heart health awareness, especially for Black men and people in high-stress jobs. He said he has frequently recommended that colleagues get mild symptoms looked at.
“The profession that we’re in, in law enforcement, it’s a high-stress, crazy job, right?” Johnson said. “We have tickets to the greatest show on Earth, but if we don’t take care of ourselves, then we can end up in situations like this. Now I’m more like the advocate of ‘Go get heart scans’ and things like that.’ What I’m excited to bring to my department and others that do this profession, or any type of high-stress profession, is to listen to yourself. Don’t ignore those signs. Go to the doctor and get checked out.”