Good News Sunday: New mom who suffered embolism thanks Elgin hospital staff for saving her life

This is Good News Sunday, a compilation of some of the more upbeat and inspiring stories published recently by the Daily Herald:

Yana Zablotska died, for a moment, after experiencing an amniotic fluid embolism just before giving birth at Advocate Sherman Hospital.

On Tuesday, she, her husband Mike and baby Michael visited the Elgin hospital to say “thank you” to the people who saved her life.

The rare condition, which affects only 1 in 40,000 women and can develop before or after delivery, occurs when amniotic fluid, fetal cells, hair or other debris enters into the maternal pulmonary circulation, causing cardiovascular collapse.

Nurse Victoria Bohlin, who has been at Sherman since 2019, said it was the first time she’d experienced something like this in labor and delivery.

“After saying she wasn’t feeling well, her eyes literally rolled back, she turned blue and fell back in the bed,” Mike Zablotska said.

Bohlin jumped on Zablotska and started doing chest compressions as a co-worker arrived and hit the “code blue” button. Others ran to get a crash cart. Within minutes, Zablotska was stabilized, and her baby was delivered shortly afterward.

“Because (Bohlin) did what she did, I didn’t lose any oxygen, and I’m here today,” Zablotska said.

For the full story, click here.

Long Grove Sock Monkey Museum is home to world’s largest collection

Sock monkeys were hanging from the rafters during a recent visit to the Sock Monkey Museum in Long Grove.

They also were spilling out of barrels, hanging from decorative trees and tucked into innumerable nooks, crannies and display cases throughout Michael and Arlene Okun’s museum at 210 Robert Parker Coffin Road.

And now the monkeys are in the Guinness World Records.

Guinness representatives Hannah Ortman and Chloe McCarthy were at the museum recently, counting sock monkeys and adding up the total. The result — 2,098 — was a world record in a new category: the largest collection of handmade sock monkeys in the world.

It was a satisfying culmination to an odyssey that began for the Hawthorn Woods couple with the purchase of a sock monkey during a road trip in 2006.

“I started to look into the history, and I found that they are tied to not only Americana but also Illinois,” Arlene said.

That history is lovingly traced at the museum in displays that include artifacts such as a vintage sewing machine and an antique radio.

For the full story, click here.

Historian Glennette Tilley Turner and her work on the Underground Railroad was recognized by the Illinois State Historical Society with the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award. Also pictured is her son, Cyril, left, and John Hallwas, president of the Illinois State Historical Society. – Courtesy of DuPage County Historical Society

Glennette Tilley Turner honored with Lifetime Achievement Award

One of Wheaton’s very own, Glennette Tilley Turner, was recently recognized for her work as a historian by the Illinois State Historical Society with a 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Turner, 90, has devoted much of her life to researching the history of the Underground Railroad, which the National Park Service defines as “the resistance to enslavement through escape and flight, through the end of the Civil War.”

“It’s such an important recognition of my work,” Turner said. “History is so important. It gives a ‘sense of place’ like nothing else. When you study history, you have a greater appreciation for where you live.”

A Wheaton resident since 1968, Turner is a public historian, teacher, author, lecturer, consultant and community activist. Currently serving on the DuPage County Historical Museum Foundation board and the DuPage County Historical Society, she taught primary grades at Longfellow Elementary School for many years while exploring the area’s history.

She has written 12 children’s books about history and the Underground Railroad. Some of her works are available in the museum shop.

“The Illinois Underground Railroad has all the surprise of a spellbinding mystery, the excitement of a great adventure and, best of all, it happened here,” she said.

For the full story, click here.

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