A Colona, Illinois boy who needed lifesaving surgery Saturday may be alive because of the heroic efforts of a semi-truck driver. When 3-year-old Ness Ben-nun became ill Saturday, his parents were told he had outgrown a shunt implanted in his brain shortly after his birth to help drain fluid from his brain. Doctors said he needed surgery immediately or he could die in 12 to 24 hours. An ambulance was dispatched from Iowa City, where the surgery was to take place, but a snowstorm and high winds forced it to turn back. A Quad-Cities helicopter ambulance also was grounded because of the weather. The infant’s family then contacted Kevin Polley, a relative who works for Wenger Truck Lines in Davenport. He enlisted the help of his friend, driver Jonathan Wade, who drove Polley and the family from Davenport to Iowa City in his semi-tractor.
Iowa's Radio News Network
