South Carolina coach reflects on surviving same medical condition that kill Sen. Lindsey Graham
Updated: 11:20 PM EDT Jul 14, 2026
Editorial Standards ⓘ
South Carolina coach reflects on surviving same medical condition that kill Sen. Lindsey Graham
Updated: 11:20 PM EDT Jul 14, 2026
Editorial Standards ⓘ
Following Lindsey Graham’s sudden death as the result of an aortic dissection, an Upstate coach and teacher is reflecting on how close he came to death when suffering from the same condition just months beforehand. The week of April 27, 2026, started on a good foot for Hillcrest High School baseball coach Grant Ramsey, with the team still celebrating a championship win.”We’d had a team day on Sunday where all our guys bleached their hair to get ready for the playoffs, and my boy included. So we had made a big, big deal of it,” he recalls. However, an unexpected medical episode was about to change his life. “I felt a little tightness in my chest, but I didn’t think much of it at first, and I had a pain that ran through my jawline and kind of ran through my jaw, and in my chest kind of felt like the tissues under my tongue were tearing in half. I mean, it felt like a tearing sensation in my mouth,” Ramsey says. Ramsery visited the school nurse, Elaine Coli. “The blood pressure was so high, I couldn’t get it. But he was talking and saying, I want to leave. I think I’ll be okay. And I knew he wasn’t. I knew he wouldn’t be and that he would need assistance right away,” Coli says. “So she called EMS in. EMS came in; they did an on-site EKG. The EKG was normal. So they suggested that we go to Hillcrest Hospital,” says Ramsey. His trip to the hospital came with several tests and no immediate diagnosis “I think most men would just say, ‘Oh, I’ll be okay. You know, it’s just a little, little indigestion or something. Something just causing a little bit of tightness, a little bit of pain, and I’ll be able to get through this, and I’ll be all right.’ Thankfully, my wife said, no, we’re not leaving until they discharge us,” Ramsey says. But then the final scan revealed a ticking time bomb in Ramsey’s chest “The doctor came in and said, ‘You’ve got blood in your chest, you’ve had an aortic dissection, and you’ve got blood pooling in your chest, and if we don’t get you to surgery, you’re going to die,” Ramsey recalls.Aortic dissection was the diagnosis; a complication in his artery that could result in a sudden death if untreated. It’s the same condition that doctors say killed Lindsey Graham in his home this week. Read more from that week here.”A lot of guys don’t – it’s too late. It happens, and by the time they realize that there’s a real problem, it’s too late to save them. I think that some of this, for me, could have been avoided if I had addressed my blood pressure issues,” he says.Coli says it’s important for everyone to pay attention to the warning signs. “Don’t wait and don’t think it’s going to get better, and you’re going to take Rolaids or antacids. I mean, you could treat indigestion if it doesn’t go away. You know, pay attention. Don’t be the hero. Don’t feel like you, you know, you’d be embarrassed to get help. Get help right away,” she says. Currently in recovery and doing rehab, Ramsey is grateful for the medical professionals from school nurse Coli, to the EMS crew, to the hospital staff at Hillcrest and Greenville Memorial hospitals. He’s hoping his story will encourage others to take care of themselves and listen to the experts. “It’s something I’ve always kind of just blown off. And I, you know, I don’t want to go to the doctor. I don’t want to get this checked out. I don’t want to be on blood pressure medicine. Now that I’ve been through this, I really think anybody who’s having any kind of pains or things like this need to get checked out,” he says.
SIMPSONVILLE, S.C. —
Following Lindsey Graham’s sudden death as the result of an aortic dissection, an Upstate coach and teacher is reflecting on how close he came to death when suffering from the same condition just months beforehand
The week of April 27, 2026, started on a good foot for Hillcrest High School baseball coach Grant Ramsey, with the team still celebrating a championship win
“We’d had a team day on Sunday where all our guys bleached their hair to get ready for the playoffs, and my boy included. So we had made a big, big deal of it,” he recalls
However, an unexpected medical episode was about to change his life
“I felt a little tightness in my chest, but I didn’t think much of it at first, and I had a pain that ran through my jawline and kind of ran through my jaw, and in my chest kind of felt like the tissues under my tongue were tearing in half. I mean, it felt like a tearing sensation in my mouth,” Ramsey says
Ramsery visited the school nurse, Elaine Coli
“The blood pressure was so high, I couldn’t get it. But he was talking and saying, I want to leave. I think I’ll be okay. And I knew he wasn’t. I knew he wouldn’t be and that he would need assistance right away,” Coli says
“So she called EMS in. EMS came in; they did an on-site EKG. The EKG was normal. So they suggested that we go to Hillcrest Hospital,” says Ramsey
His trip to the hospital came with several tests and no immediate diagnosis
“I think most men would just say, ‘Oh, I’ll be okay. You know, it’s just a little, little indigestion or something. Something just causing a little bit of tightness, a little bit of pain, and I’ll be able to get through this, and I’ll be all right.’ Thankfully, my wife said, no, we’re not leaving until they discharge us,” Ramsey says
But then the final scan revealed a ticking time bomb in Ramsey’s chest
“The doctor came in and said, ‘You’ve got blood in your chest, you’ve had an aortic dissection, and you’ve got blood pooling in your chest, and if we don’t get you to surgery, you’re going to die,” Ramsey recalls
Aortic dissection was the diagnosis; a complication in his artery that could result in a sudden death if untreated. It’s the same condition that doctors say killed Lindsey Graham in his home this week
Read more from that week here
“A lot of guys don’t – it’s too late. It happens, and by the time they realize that there’s a real problem, it’s too late to save them. I think that some of this, for me, could have been avoided if I had addressed my blood pressure issues,” he says
Coli says it’s important for everyone to pay attention to the warning signs
“Don’t wait and don’t think it’s going to get better, and you’re going to take Rolaids or antacids. I mean, you could treat indigestion if it doesn’t go away. You know, pay attention. Don’t be the hero. Don’t feel like you, you know, you’d be embarrassed to get help. Get help right away,” she says
Currently in recovery and doing rehab, Ramsey is grateful for the medical professionals from school nurse Coli, to the EMS crew, to the hospital staff at Hillcrest and Greenville Memorial hospitals
He’s hoping his story will encourage others to take care of themselves and listen to the experts
“It’s something I’ve always kind of just blown off. And I, you know, I don’t want to go to the doctor. I don’t want to get this checked out. I don’t want to be on blood pressure medicine. Now that I’ve been through this, I really think anybody who’s having any kind of pains or things like this need to get checked out,” he says
Weather Information
‘
+ ‘
‘;
var gptLayer = window.gptLayer;
if (gptLayer && typeof gptLayer.insertAds === ‘function’) {
var slotsBefore = gptLayer.adSlots ? gptLayer.adSlots.length : 0;
gptLayer.insertAds();
if ((gptLayer.adSlots ? gptLayer.adSlots.length : 0) > slotsBefore) {
if (typeof gptLayer.callAdSlots === ‘function’) {
gptLayer.callAdSlots(‘imm’);
}
}
}
}
}
function closeRadarOverlay(containerId) {
var overlay = document.getElementById(containerId + ‘-radar-overlay’);
if (!overlay) return;
overlay.classList.remove(‘is-open’);
overlay.setAttribute(‘aria-hidden’, ‘true’);
document.body.classList.remove(‘weather-radar-overlay-active’);
var adSlot = overlay.querySelector(‘.weather-radar-overlay__ad-slot’);
if (adSlot) {
adSlot.innerHTML = ”;
}
}
function trackRadarOverlayInteraction(containerId) {
var now = Date.now();
var key = ‘radar_overlay_last_interaction_’ + containerId;
if (!window[key] || now – window[key] > 10000) {
window[key] = now;
dispatchWeatherGA4Event(‘radar_overlayinteraction’, ‘interaction’, containerId);
}
}
function isMobileOrTabletViewport(breakpoint = 980) {
const w = window.innerWidth || document.documentElement.clientWidth || 0;
return w < breakpoint;
}
function removeUnusedWeatherModule() {
const desktopClass = ‘sidelist-weather’;
const mobileClass = ‘mobile-weather’;
if (isMobileOrTabletViewport()) {
console.log(‘[WEATHER-BOX] Mobile/tablet viewport detected, removing desktop weather module if it exists’);
const desktopModule = document.querySelector(‘.’ + desktopClass);
if (desktopModule) {
console.log(‘[WEATHER-BOX] Removing desktop weather module’);
desktopModule.remove();
}
} else {
console.log(‘[WEATHER-BOX] Desktop viewport detected, removing mobile weather module if it exists’);
const mobileModule = document.querySelector(‘.’ + mobileClass);
if (mobileModule) {
console.log(‘[WEATHER-BOX] Removing mobile weather module’);
mobileModule.remove();
}
}
}
document.addEventListener(‘DOMContentLoaded’, function() {
removeUnusedWeatherModule();
function generateForecastItem(data) {
var ariaLabel = data.timeLabel + ‘, ‘ + data.primaryTemp + ‘ degrees, ‘ +
data.secondaryInfo + ‘ percent chance of precipitation’;
return `
`;
}
function refreshWeatherIframe(containerId) {
var iframeId = ‘weather-iframe-‘ + containerId;
var iframe = document.getElementById(iframeId);
if (iframe && iframe.src) {
var originalSrc = iframe.src;
iframe.src = originalSrc + (originalSrc.indexOf(‘?’) > -1 ? ‘&’ : ‘?’) + ‘t=’ + Date.now();
}
}
function initializeWeatherBox(container) {
var containerId = container.getAttribute(‘data-container-id’);
var isWeatherBoxV2 = containerId === ‘home-weather-v2’;
function switchWeatherTab(tabName, clickedElement) {
container.querySelectorAll(‘[data-tab-id]’).forEach(function(tab) {
tab.classList.remove(‘open’);
tab.setAttribute(‘aria-selected’, ‘false’);
});
clickedElement.classList.add(‘open’);
clickedElement.setAttribute(‘aria-selected’, ‘true’);
container.querySelectorAll(‘[data-content-id]’).forEach(function(content) {
content.style.display = ‘none’;
content.setAttribute(‘hidden’, ‘true’);
});
var targetContent = container.querySelector(‘[data-content-id=”‘ + tabName + ‘”]’);
if (targetContent) {
targetContent.style.display = ‘block’;
targetContent.removeAttribute(‘hidden’);
}
}
function loadWeatherData() {
// If weather data is already being loaded, wait for it
if (window.weatherDataPromise) {
window.weatherDataPromise.then(function(data) {
if (data && data.data) {
var weatherContainer = container.closest(‘.weather-box-container’);
if (weatherContainer) {
weatherContainer.style.display = ‘flex’;
updateCurrentWeather(data.data);
updateForecastTabs(data.data);
updateWeatherAlertsBar(data.data);
}
}
});
return;
}
var location = { zip: window.DEFAULT_ZIPCODE };
try {
var storedLocations = localStorage.getItem(‘hrst.zip.history’);
if (storedLocations) {
var locations = JSON.parse(storedLocations);
if (locations && locations.length > 0) {
location = locations[0];
}
}
} catch (e) {}
var apiUrl = (window.DEWY_HOSTNAME || ”) + ‘/api/v1/weather/full/’ + location.zip;
if (window.fetch) {
window.weatherDataPromise = fetch(apiUrl)
.then(function(response) { return response.json(); })
.then(function(data) {
if (data && data.data) {
var article = container.closest(‘.article–wrapper’);
var weatherContainer = container.closest(‘.weather-box-container’);
if (weatherContainer) {
weatherContainer.style.display = ‘flex’;
updateCurrentWeather(data.data);
updateForecastTabs(data.data);
updateWeatherAlertsBar(data.data);
}
return data;
}
})
.catch(function(error) {
console.error(‘Error loading weather:’, error);
// Reset to unknown background on error
updateWeatherBackground(‘unknown’);
});
}
}
function updateWeatherAlertsBar(weatherData) {
var weatherWatchHeader = container.querySelector(‘.weather-watch-header’);
if (!weatherWatchHeader) return;
var weatherWatchText = weatherWatchHeader.querySelector(‘.weather-watch-text’);
var weatherWatchLink = weatherWatchHeader.querySelector(‘.weather-watch-link’);
if (weatherData.alerts_count > 0) {
weatherWatchHeader.className = ‘weather-watch-header has-alerts’;
if (weatherWatchText) {
weatherWatchText.textContent = `Weather Alerts (${weatherData.alerts_count})`;
}
if (weatherWatchLink) {
if (!weatherWatchLink.getAttribute(‘data-initial-href’)) {
weatherWatchLink.setAttribute(‘data-initial-href’, weatherWatchLink.getAttribute(‘href’));
weatherWatchLink.setAttribute(‘data-initial-onclick’, weatherWatchLink.getAttribute(‘onclick’) || ”);
}
weatherWatchLink.setAttribute(‘href’, ‘/alerts’);
weatherWatchLink.setAttribute(‘onclick’, “return handleWeatherLinkClick(event, ‘click_alerts’, ‘click’, ‘mobile-weather’, ‘/alerts’);”);
}
} else {
weatherWatchHeader.className = ‘weather-watch-header’;
if (weatherWatchText) {
weatherWatchText.textContent = containerId === ‘home-weather-v2’ ? ‘Watch Latest Forecast’ : ‘Latest Forecast’;
}
if (weatherWatchLink) {
var initialHref = weatherWatchLink.getAttribute(‘data-initial-href’);
var initialOnclick = weatherWatchLink.getAttribute(‘data-initial-onclick’);
if (initialHref) {
weatherWatchLink.setAttribute(‘href’, initialHref);
}
if (initialOnclick) {
weatherWatchLink.setAttribute(‘onclick’, initialOnclick);
}
}
}
}
function updateCurrentWeather(weatherData) {
if (weatherData.current) {
var tempValue = weatherData.current.temp_f || ”;
var skyValue = weatherData.current.sky || ”;
var feelsLikeValue = weatherData.current.feels_like_f || weatherData.current.temp_f || ”;
var tempEl = container.querySelector(‘.weather-grid–current-temp-value’);
if (tempEl) {
tempEl.textContent = tempValue;
tempEl.setAttribute(‘aria-label’, tempValue + ‘ degrees Fahrenheit’);
}
var iconEl = container.querySelector(‘.weather-grid–current-icon’);
if (iconEl && weatherData.current.icon_name) {
iconEl.className = ‘weather-grid–current-icon weather-current-icon icon icon-weather-‘ + weatherData.current.icon_name;
}
var skyEl = container.querySelector(‘.weather-grid–sky’);
if (skyEl) {
skyEl.textContent = skyValue;
skyEl.setAttribute(‘aria-label’, ‘Current condition: ‘ + skyValue);
}
var feelsEl = container.querySelector(‘.weather-grid–feels’);
if (feelsEl) {
feelsEl.textContent = feelsLikeValue + ‘°F’;
feelsEl.setAttribute(‘aria-label’, feelsLikeValue + ‘ degrees Fahrenheit’);
}
var weatherContainer = container.querySelector(‘.weather-temp-container’);
if (weatherContainer) {
var summary = ‘Current temperature ‘ + tempValue + ‘ degrees Fahrenheit, ‘ +
skyValue + ‘, feels like ‘ + feelsLikeValue + ‘ degrees’;
weatherContainer.setAttribute(‘aria-label’, summary);
}
updateWeatherBackground(weatherData.current.icon_name);
}
}
function updateWeatherBackground(iconName) {
try {
var bgPath = weatherImages.backgrounds[iconName] || weatherImages.backgrounds.unknown;
container.style.backgroundImage = ‘url(‘ + bgPath + ‘)’;
} catch (e) {
console.log(‘Error updating weather background:’, e);
}
}
function updateForecastTabs(weatherData) {
var visibleItems = isWeatherBoxV2 ? 6 : 5;
if (weatherData.hourly) {
var hourlyContainer = container.querySelector(‘.weather-hourly-forecast’);
if (hourlyContainer) {
var html = ”;
var maxHours = Math.min(visibleItems, weatherData.hourly.length);
for (var i = 0; i < maxHours; i++) {
var hour = weatherData.hourly[i];
html += generateForecastItem({
timeLabel: hour.hour_display,
iconName: hour.icon_name,
primaryTemp: hour.temp_f,
secondaryInfo: hour.precip_chance + ‘%’
});
}
hourlyContainer.innerHTML = html;
}
}
if (weatherData.daily) {
var dailyContainer = container.querySelector(‘.weather-daily-forecast’);
if (dailyContainer) {
var html = ”;
var maxDays = Math.min(visibleItems, weatherData.daily.length);
for (var i = 0; i < maxDays; i++) {
var day = weatherData.daily[i];
var dayName = getShortDayName(day.day);
html += generateForecastItem({
timeLabel: dayName,
iconName: day.icon_name,
primaryTemp: day.high_f,
secondaryInfo: day.precip_chance + ‘%’
});
}
dailyContainer.innerHTML = html;
}
}
}
function getShortDayName(dayName) {
switch (dayName) {
case ‘Today’:
return ‘Today’;
case ‘Tomorrow’:
return ‘Tmrw’;
case ‘Sunday’:
return ‘Sun’;
case ‘Monday’:
return ‘Mon’;
case ‘Tuesday’:
return ‘Tue’;
case ‘Wednesday’:
return ‘Wed’;
case ‘Thursday’:
return ‘Thu’;
case ‘Friday’:
return ‘Fri’;
case ‘Saturday’:
return ‘Sat’;
default:
return dayName;
}
}
container.querySelectorAll(‘[data-tab-id]’).forEach(function(tab) {
var isActive = tab.classList.contains(‘open’);
tab.setAttribute(‘tabindex’, ‘0’); // Both tabs focusable for VoiceOver
tab.setAttribute(‘role’, ‘tab’);
tab.setAttribute(‘aria-selected’, isActive);
tab.addEventListener(‘keydown’, function(e) {
var tabs = Array.from(container.querySelectorAll(‘[data-tab-id]’));
var currentIndex = tabs.indexOf(this);
switch(e.key) {
case ‘ArrowLeft’:
e.preventDefault();
var prevIndex = currentIndex > 0 ? currentIndex – 1 : tabs.length – 1;
tabs[prevIndex].focus();
break;
case ‘ArrowRight’:
e.preventDefault();
var nextIndex = currentIndex < tabs.length – 1 ? currentIndex + 1 : 0;
tabs[nextIndex].focus();
break;
case ‘Enter’:
case ‘ ‘:
e.preventDefault();
var tabId = this.getAttribute(‘data-tab-id’);
switchWeatherTab(tabId, this);
if (tabId === ‘hourly’) {
dispatchWeatherGA4Event(‘click_hourly’, ‘click’, containerId);
} else if (tabId === ‘daily’) {
dispatchWeatherGA4Event(‘click_daily’, ‘click’, containerId);
}
break;
}
});
tab.onclick = function() {
var tabId = this.getAttribute(‘data-tab-id’);
switchWeatherTab(tabId, this);
if (tabId === ‘hourly’) {
dispatchWeatherGA4Event(‘click_hourly’, ‘click’, containerId);
} else if (tabId === ‘daily’) {
dispatchWeatherGA4Event(‘click_daily’, ‘click’, containerId);
}
return false;
};
});
loadWeatherData();
window.addEventListener(‘pageshow’, function(event) {
if (event.persisted) {
// Fix for weather radar iframe appearing gray after browser back/forward navigation
// When user navigates back, the page loads from browser cache but the iframe
// content doesn’t restore properly, showing a gray screen instead of the radar map
// This forces a fresh reload of the iframe by adding a timestamp parameter
setTimeout(function() {
refreshWeatherIframe(containerId);
}, 300);
}
});
}
document.querySelectorAll(‘.weather-sidebar’).forEach(function(weatherBox) {
initializeWeatherBox(weatherBox);
});
});
Make WYFF 4 a preferred source on Google
