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Jim Craig Stops in Flint to Promote Awareness for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

February 20, 2009 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Flint Generals News Release


BOSTON, MA - It is one of the most indelible and feel-good images in American sports history: U.S. Olympic goaltender Jim Craig skating the ice and looking into the stands, the words "Where's my father?" easily readable on his lips.

Team U.S.A. had just defeated Finland, 4-2, to clinch the Olympic gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid. Two days prior - on Friday evening, February 22 - the Yanks had knocked off the mighty Soviet Union in what is widely considered among the greatest upsets in athletic annals.

About eight years after Lake Placid, Jim Craig's father, Don, 68, entered the hospital to get checked out for pains in his back. What no one knew then was that an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) - commonly called triple-A - caused the pain. Within a few hours of entering the hospital, Don Craig died suddenly when the aneurysm burst.

On Thursday evening, February 26, Craig will be making a stop in Flint on his coast to coast tour as a national spokesperson for the Ultimate SAAAVE (Screening Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

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Very Efficiently). Ultimate SAAAVE is a public awareness campaign that encourages those at risk for triple-A - men or women 65-75 years old who have ever smoked, or men or women 65 to 75 years old with a family history of vascular disease.

"People ask me how I first knew that my dad had an abdominal aortic aneurysm," says Craig. "And I know it sounds harsh - but I want everyone to get the message - I first knew that my dad a triple-A when he was dead. If we had known in time for the triple-A to be repaired, my father could have had so much more time with us. Today a quick and painless ultrasound can detect a triple-A."

On Thursday, Craig first attends and speaks at a reception of doctors and healthcare professionals; he then heads over to the Perani Arena and Event Center where he will do an appearance at a Flint Generals game. Craig will do a ceremonial puck drop at the game and sign autographs and attend another reception. The Generals will play wearing special red, white, and blue jerseys with an Ultimate SAAAVE message printed on them. After the game the jerseys will be auctioned off.

"It will be fun to in Flint, to such important work in a city that has long been so important to the strength of this country," said Craig. "And, of course, the Flint area loves its hockey."

Craig explained that burst or ruptured triple-As are almost always fatal and are the 13th leading cause of death annually in the U.S.

Ultimate SAAAVE is sponsored by Gore Medical and inspired by the SAAAVE Act, a federal law enacted in February 2006 and which provides for a one-time screening for triple-A to be covered as a Medicare benefit.

Along with the Flint Generals, the Michigan Vascular Research Center is playing a lead role in planning and organizing Jim Craig's Ultimate SAAAVE appearance in Flint.

"It is gratifying and tremendously encouraging to have a person like Jim Craig put to use his celebrity and his passion and concern for others to help people and improve and save lives," said Dr. Carlo Dall'Olmo, a vascular surgeon and partner at the Michigan Vascular Center in Flint, who will introduce Craig at the reception. "I have committed my professional career to improving cardiovascular and vascular health - and to have an Olympic gold medalist as a teammate in this effort ."



International Hockey League 2 Stories from February 20, 2009


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