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Tribune News Service

The new partner at the US law firm where Zach Williams works heard him talking about what happened to his wife.
Amber Williams was 35 and seemed perfectly healthy when she felt excruciating chest pain. She had had an aortic dissection – something that is often discovered during an autopsy.
“That’s a weird way for you to tell me you’re a widower,” the partner said.
Zach replied, “Oh, no. My wife is very much alive.”

But when Zach had seen Amber at her office that day in early May 2023, three days after they had completed the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, her pallor terrified him.
“I put on an Oscar-winning performance not to show how shocked I was,” he said. “She was grey. I’d never seen that colour before and I haven’t seen it since. I thought, ‘I need to try to stay calm.’”
Amber went to the nearest hospital. Doctors considered that she might have issues with her lungs or kidneys, or was dehydrated. The cardiologist on duty was not comfortable with any of those suggestions and decided to keep her in hospital overnight. Part of his concern stemmed from her history of heart problems.
At 16, she was diagnosed with Turner syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that increases the risk of developing heart disease. It is a female-only genetic disorder that affects about one in 2,000 baby girls. Her doctor ran tests every few years to make sure all was normal.

About nine months before the Oklahoma City marathon, a CAT scan showed Amber’s aorta to be slightly enlarged. A cardiologist investigated further and said surgery was not necessary unless it became more enlarged.
The morning after Amber entered the hospital nine months later, the wary cardiologist repeated tests that had been done the day before. That is when he saw that the aorta was not enlarged – it had torn. Excessive bleeding likely blocked the view on the initial tests.
This changed everything. Within an hour, Amber was transferred to another hospital, where she underwent surgery on her aorta.
The aorta is the largest artery in the body. It is shaped like a candy cane as it leaves the heart. Doctors replaced most of Amber’s upper part, the curve.
She spent the next 10 days in hospital. A thought haunted her: had she been discharged from the hospital that first night, there is no telling how things would have turned out.
There’s so much going on with my heart that I can’t control, but this – what I eat and how I exercise – I can control
Amber Williams, survivor of a torn aorta
Once home, Amber felt strong. She was walking a lot which – said the avid exerciser – “saved my sanity”. She even walked 5km (3.1 miles) a few weeks after her operation. That, Zach said, “was ill-advised, but I wasn’t going to stop her. All gas and no brakes is her attitude.”
About a year later, doctors determined they needed to repair more of her aorta. She had the operation in August; this time, doctors had to saw through her sternum, making the recovery more excruciating.
But Amber is as tough as she is stubborn – qualities Zach has loved about her since they met in graduate school in 2013, and which he now cherishes more than ever.
When her blood pressure skyrocketed, she did not get discouraged. Instead, she focused on ratcheting up the healthy lifestyle choices that could help control her blood pressure, primarily diet and exercise. Both were already good; she made them better. She even completed a half-marathon with Zach, running and walking 21km.
“It’s so nice being able to do all this to stay healthy,” she said. “There’s so much going on with my heart that I can’t control, but this – what I eat and how I exercise – I can control.”

Amber’s ordeal has reshaped her perspective on life.
“Little things that might have upset or frustrated me don’t as much,” she said. “I have a better attitude: this doesn’t matter. I’m here. I’m going to be fine.”
There’s likely one – and hopefully only one – step left in her medical journey. Doctors will replace the lower part of her aorta.
The extensive operation could be challenging, as will the recovery. Still, she and Zach have been through a lot already. They credit her resilience for her being in such good shape before her aorta tore.
They also get a kick out of a note a doctor wrote on Amber’s chart, a description they say sums her up perfectly: “Amber Williams, 35-year-old aortic dissection patient. Active, perhaps excessively so.”
So it is not especially surprising that Amber told Zach she plans for both of them to run the New York City Marathon in 2025.
“I feel so fortunate, that’s for sure,” Amber said. “I feel there’s a purpose for all this.”
Like what you read? Follow SCMP Lifestyle on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also sign up for our eNewsletter here.


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How marathon runner survived after tearing her aorta, the largest artery in the body

Amber (right) and Zach Williams after running the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon in April 2023. Photo: American Heart Association News

Amber Williams attends her first fitness class after tearing her aorta in 2023. Photo: American Heart Association News

Runners at the start of the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, on April 30, 2023. Amber Williams completed the race three days before being taken to hospital. Photo: Instagram/okcmarathon

The aorta is the largest artery in the body and is shaped like a candy cane. Photo: Shutterstock

Amber and Zach Williams after running the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon in April 2023. Photo: American Heart Association News

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Health & Wellness

Health

Family & Relationships

Things could have turned out very different for Amber Williams, who was diagnosed with aortic dissection days after running a marathon


Things could have turned out very different for Amber Williams, who was diagnosed with aortic dissection days after running a marathon.
