Jon Streif is grateful for a second chance at life after surviving a heart attack while moving corn in the top of a bin prior to capping it off for winter storage. He’s vowed to quit smoking and is using a nicotine patch. He also relies on daughters Morgan and Claire to remind him daily of all the reasons he has to quit smoking for good. (Janell Bradley photo)
Steifs grateful for each day
By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com
When Jon and Kathy Streif host Thanksgiving dinner at their West Union home on Thursday, they’ll enjoy great food with family and close friends. But the day will also be a time to remember loved ones lost, appreciate those who are still with them, and celebrate a second chance at life itself.
Kathy lost her father, Bill Arthur, at an early age. Jon’s mom, Sonja Streif, died of cancer in 2008 at age 61. Then in 2009, the couple lost daughter Hilary, 15, to a car accident.
The loss of loved ones and changes in their careers has resulted in a lot of stress and extended grief for the Streifs the last couple of years. Very likely that stress, coupled with a lifetime of smoking cigarettes, played a role when four weeks ago Jon suffered a heart attack, brought on by a blockage in the major artery leading to his heart.
It was Monday morning, Oct. 26, and Jon, 48, was leveling off grain bins for storage. The harvest was complete, and he was working to wrap up the season.
“I was a quarter of the way around on my first bin when I felt a pop – like I’d pulled a muscle. My arms started going numb, and I was suddenly very winded,” he recalled.
