The Reason

Joe Niekro was part of the fabric of major league baseball for a very long time. He pitched from 1967 to 1988, 22 seasons, notching 221 wins. He was also one of the most successful knuckleball pitchers of his era.

Niekro was born Nov. 7, 1944, in Martins Ferry, Ohio. He was drafted in the third round by the Chicago Cubs in 1966 and was in the majors by 1967, going 10-7 as a 22-year-old rookie.

Niekro used a fastball and slider in his first few years in the majors, going 24-17 with the Cubs in 1967-68. Niekro spent 1969-74 with the Cubs, Padres, Tigers and Braves.

It was in Atlanta he started working seriously on the knuckleball which his father had taught him and his older brother, Phil, was using with great success. Mastering the pitch would lead to the most successful seasons of his career.

Joe Niekro is mostly remembered for his days with the Houston Astros, which he joined at the age of 30 at the beginning of the 1975 season after being purchased from the Braves. Over half his career innings and wins came with the Astros.

He notched 20+ victories two times during that span, when he was 34 and 35 years old in 1979 and 1980. In 1979, Niekro led the National League in Wins and Shutouts and was largely responsible for leading the Astros to the NLCS playoffs.

In 1979, when the Astros contended until the final week of the season for the National League West Division title, Niekro was 21-11, tying for the National League lead in victories with his brother, Phil. The next year, Niekro was 20-12, becoming the first Houston pitcher to win 20 games in a season twice.

Niekro retired in 1988 with a lifetime record of 221-204. Post retirement, Niekro spent his time devoted to helping his son Lance pursue his baseball career, never missing one of Lance’s practices or games. Joe’s effort paid off; in 2000 Lance was drafted in the 2nd round by the San Francisco Giants where he played for seven years, followed by The Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves.

Joe, along with his brother Phil, hold the record for the most wins by two brothers, with 539, in the history of baseball and Joe holds the record of the winningest pitcher in Houston Astros history. In 2005, Niekro was inducted into the Texas Hall of Fame.

On October 26th, 2006, Niekro suffered a brain aneurysm and lost his life the following day. Today his legacy lives on through The Joe Niekro Foundation, founded and run by his daughter Natalie.

Patient & Survivor Stories

Hi. My name is Chris and I’m writing to tell my story of how my life was interrupted by something I had really never heard of.

It was the early morning of April 12, 2003 and my family had left for Las Vegas the day before to spend the weekend with friends. I heard the newspaper hit the front porch around sunrise that Saturday morning and I was anxious to get an early start to the day because it was Game 1 of the hockey playoffs.
Being from Detroit, I was very anxious to see the Wings beat the Anaheim Ducks. Well, I proceeded to open the front door to retrieve my paper. As I did this, I noticed my friend Ryan going to his place. He and his family lived straight across from us. I reminded him that the hockey was coming on at 10:00 a.m. and invited him over for some breakfast. As we were discussing who was going to win the game, (he being from California and my being from Detroit), I finished cooking breakfast, handed him a plate and asked if he wanted a vitamin with his breakfast? I opened the cupboard to get a vitamin and that’s when I collapsed.

I guess I opened my eyes once I collapsed and as I looked up saw my friend who asked “Chris, are you alright?” I wondered why he was saying this and that’s when I first realized I was on my back on our kitchen floor with an awful pain in my head. It was as if someone was hitting me in the head with a sledge hammer. I started to verbalize how bad the pain was and somehow managed to rise to my feet. I got so nauseated and staggered to the kitchen sink where I stood slumped over, screaming because of the pain.

Then I instantly began to sweat, as if someone turned on a faucet. Needless to say, I was in very bad shape. I just staggered through the kitchen to the front room fell on the couch as Ryan was calling 911. I was rushed to Kaiser Permanente ER. There, they somehow communicated to me that I needed to sign authorization for a spinal tap! They didn’t tell me why, but very scared I refused and told them to find my family. After my family told them to do the procedure, I was taken into a room where they did the spinal tap and found that my brain was bleeding. I was told I had to go straight to surgery. I replied, “not without my Bible and my family.” They knew I was serious so they obviously put me out and monitored me closely until my family arrived, with my Bible (true story).

They did a procedure called coiling, entering through the main artery in my groin and traveling up my side, finding the ruptured artery and repairing it with coils.

I spent the next several days in intensive care, which is where I learned what I had experienced was a brain aneurysm. They explained the vein that burst in my head was the biggest vein in the head. It was the right giant communicating aneurysm.

When I left ICU and returned home, it took me some months to return close to myself. I have to say that the Lord is great, praise God. I know he had me in the palm of his hands the entire time; including sending (who I believe was my angel, my friend Ryan, who just happened to be walking outside my door at 5:00 a.m. that morning). In 12 years, I had never seen Ryan that early coming home after being out all night.

I also have the best mom and sister a son and brother could ask for. They’ve always been there to help, support and love me, even in the days when I probably didn’t deserve it.

I love my family and my life and I do hope people really know without the Lord, nothing is possible, but with him, everything is possible. This event was major and I’m living proof of his love and grace.

Forever grateful for this second chance,
Chris – Fountain Hills, AZ

I had a brain aneurysm clipping in 1977. Fortunately I survived with no serious complications but when this happens it is always on your mind. I have been looking for a support group for a long time and one morning I happened to be watching channel 12 and here was Natalie talking about the Joe Niekro Foundation. I got so excited that she was starting to hold meetings in the Phoenix area I immediately joined. It is so wonderful talking to people who have gone through a similar situation and we have just begun!!! This means so much to me because of late I have had some things happening to me after all this time and it has been a concern to me. I have also discovered things that I have experienced over the years are symptoms that other people have had that I thought it was just me but no it is a result of my surgery. I feel very blessed to be a part of this group and look forward to it growing.

Alma – Glendale, AZ 

My name is Robin Beck. On December 15, 2007, I was at a Christmas party and while visiting with friends, I fell down or so I thought. Fortunately two nurses were attending the same party and knew something was not right. They called 911 and the fire engine and ambulance were there almost immediately. For the next month, I was in a coma and spent a total of two months in Barrow’s Hospital. The doctors, nurses, and therapists were great and gave me wonderful care. 

The day before my release from the hospital, I was given a 3-hour test to measure my mental ability. After 30 minutes, they told me to go back to my room. I told them to wait because I needed more time but they told me I was finished. They had made me feel like an idiot. In the wheelchair on the way back to my room, I cried for the first time. While I was recuperating at home, I began thinking about my customers and was excited to get back to the job I had for the last seven years. After about a month, I was told I had been fired. This is the second time I cried. After about a year, things started clicking. I then realized I won’t drive for a long time, I realized I won’t have a job for a long time, and I am content. I have been working with several friends and family members to recover the skills I have lost and am making tremendous progress. I am now retired and have new purpose in my life. I volunteer, I walk places (and as I walk I exercise my brain as well), I socialize regularly with my friends and family. With the help of God, my friends and family, especially my boyfriend, Rex, I am able to live a happy and productive life.I am so happy to be a part of the Joe Niekro Foundation Support Group. I have met many quality people there. It is reassuring to know that I am not the only one who has experienced a brain aneurysm. If you or someone you love has been affected by an aneurysm, I invite you to join us as we come together to support one another and share our stories. For more information, please contact Natalie Niekro at (602) 318-1013. 

Perseverance,

Robin Beck

57-year-old Linda Inglett was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm in December 2006. She went to an ENT in Savannah because she was having trouble with her vocal cords.
After running test, Dr. Fred Daniel told Linda that she needed to get to the hospital because she had a possible brain aneurysm. Turns out Dr. Daniel was right and it’s amazing that he caught the BA by accident. Dr. Jay Howington of St. Joseph’s/Candler performed a procedure called Edovascular Embolization (platinum coils and stents were inserted in Linda’s brain). She survived the ordeal. If the aneurysm had ruptured, she may have been debilitated and left in a nursing home for the rest of her life, or worse - she could have died.
There was a bigger risk that Linda could not see. "When I was sitting in there he told me I had a possible brain aneurysm. And I thought he got me mixed up with someone else", Linda says. MRI and MRA results proved positive. Linda's aneurysm in the middle of her brain had been caught by accident. When I got diagnosed it was like I'm gonna die." Dr. Fred Daniel suspected she had an aneurysm while reviewing her test results.
Days later Saint Joseph's/Candler and Neurosurgeon Dr. Jay Howington became her source for hope. "She was lucky that her aneurysm had not ruptured", says Dr. Howington. Wasting no time, Dr. Howington used the best technology to keep her alive. Dr. Howington relied on Endovascular Embolization, a familiar procedure which has advanced to become the preferred treatment for many patients with brain aneuryms.
Linda Inglett recently went back to Dr. Howington for one of a series of follow-up cerebral angiograms to check her progress. "For Linda Inglett we checked at 6 months. Then we checked at a year which is what this angiogram is . Then we will do one at 24 months. If at that point there's no further aneurysm on angiography we consider that cured", says Dr. Howington.
Today Linda bravely shares the story of her battle with local stroke survivors. Part of her mission is to raise awareness and hopefully prevent brain aneurysms and illnesses associated with them. "If I could get on top of a mountain right now and scream to the world to wake up people with brain aneurysms that you can be fixed with a brain aneurysm before it ruptures lord somebody help me get there", says Linda.
"We've got to get more awareness out about what to look for and doctors...like she was saying earlier they can't read your mind. If you're having a problem tell them. If something doesn't feel right tell them, and then it may be something they can do about it", says Wyman Inglett.
Dr. Howington says there are few places in the country offering screenings for aneuyrsms, and Linda is trying to change that. "I'm trying to start brainograms. We've got mammograms..why not brainograms to look for ba's, brain aneurysms..bs's. But yeah that needs to happen...needs to happen. save your life."
Linda is pushing to get Brain Aneurysm screening in Savannah. There is only one early detection screening program in the country that doctors know of. It's in Austin, Texas sponsored by The Missy Project. It's in memory of Missy Magel. She died from a brain aneurysm in 1999.  Visit Linda's website www.bahelp.com.