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）始终将健康放在心上。他知道自己有高血压家族史，因此坚持保持活跃的生活方式和健康饮食。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忙碌。工作之余，无论是在办公桌前处理事务，还是陪伴妻子和两个孩子，或者在健身房锻炼、打篮球，他总是安排得满满当当。
去年3月的一个周日，是难得清闲的一天。他和家人一起放松度日，看了会儿电视后便早早上床睡觉。躺下后不久，他开始感到胸痛。他以为只是肌肉抽筋，便起身去厨房拿冰袋缓解。
“我没有感到恶心、头痛或其他不适，”约翰逊告诉CBS新闻，”只记得浑身发热。我走到厨房，然后基本上就倒下了。”
幸运的是，约翰逊的妻子紧随其后进入厨房。当他摔倒，冰袋散落一地时，她立刻行动，拨打了911。约翰逊称，医护人员在不到两分钟内就赶到了他家。他被紧急送往附近医院，随后被空运至芝加哥西北纪念医院（Northwestern Memorial Hospital）。医生迅速为他实施了长达6小时的心脏直视手术，这一手术挽救了他的生命。
苏醒后，医生告知约翰逊，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。据《美国心脏病学会杂志》（Journal of the American College of Cardiology）报道，这种疾病十分罕见且往往致命，每年约有1.3万人因此丧生。能否存活取决于撕裂的位置、大小以及治疗的及时性。
“如果这处撕裂再大两毫米，就会立即致命，”约翰逊说。
“我的外科医生曾向我解释病情，当你听到这些，你会意识到’天啊，情况非常严重，比我想象的要复杂得多’，”他继续说道，”而这一切都始于那个晚上。我是说，出事前的那个周六，我还去纹了两个纹身，一切看起来都很正常。但仅仅两天后，我就真的在和死神搏斗。”
绝境中的康复之路
主动脉夹层只是约翰逊健康危机的开端。手术后，他的心律出现异常，医生不得不三次使用除颤器电击他以维持稳定。此外，他还经历了两次中风、两次因腿部血栓引发的肺栓塞以及肺炎。他表示，两次中风导致右臂瘫痪。
“有一次，医生告诉我的妻子，在经历了中风和其他一系列医疗问题后，我可能撑不过去了，”约翰逊回忆道。
在重症监护室（ICU）待了10天后，约翰逊被转到西北大学玛丽安乔伊康复医院（Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital）。他开始接受物理治疗，并迅速取得了阶段性进展。但作业治疗（occupational therapy）则更具挑战性。他与作业治疗师贝丝·博萨克（Beth Bosak）花了三个月时间专注于精细运动技能的恢复。
巴特利特警察局的克里斯·约翰逊警探
（图片说明：克里斯·约翰逊警探在玛丽安乔伊康复医院与作业治疗师贝丝·博萨克协作。）
“刚开始一起治疗时，约翰逊的手臂几乎无法移动，手也没有反应，”博萨克说。他一心想恢复使用配枪的能力，并能照顾自己的大型犬。博萨克将个性化训练与经典作业疗法相结合，制定了定制康复计划。很快，约翰逊的恢复取得了突破。
“有很长一段时间，我不愿意相信自己的伤势有多严重，这真的很难接受。第一天走进康复室时，我想’我做不到，不想尝试’，”约翰逊坦言，”但治疗师们非常出色。过程中确实有艰难的日子，但一切都很值得。起初我觉得’我永远不可能恢复到从前的状态’，但现在我做到了——真的是奇迹般地恢复了。”
“不要忽视身体发出的信号”
康复期间，约翰逊已开始在工作中承担轻度职责，即坐在办公桌前处理事务，而非外出执行任务。8月，也就是完成作业治疗仅10周后，他获准重返全负荷工作。他称这是一个重要的里程碑。
“我感觉棒极了，状态很好，”约翰逊说，”现在我们就在这里，我回来了。”
重返岗位的约翰逊肩负起新的使命。他成为高血压和心脏健康意识的倡导者，尤其关注美国黑人男性和高压职业从业者。他表示，经常建议同事重视轻微症状的检查。
“我们从事的执法工作，压力大、任务繁重，对吧？”约翰逊说，”我们仿佛拥有世界上最精彩的人生，但如果不照顾好自己，最终可能会陷入这样的困境。现在我更像是一个’去做心脏扫描’之类的倡导者。我希望将这些信息带给我的部门以及其他从事高压职业的人——倾听自己的身体，不要忽视任何信号，及时就医检查。”
巴特利特警察局的克里斯·约翰逊警探
（图片说明：克里斯·约翰逊警探在巴特利特警察局。）
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.”
