“Surviving & Thriving” is produced by Bolder Broadcasting, the team behind the nationally syndicated “Growing Bolder,” and presented by Florida Hospital, with support from WKMG News 6.

This episode originally aired on Dec. 12, 2015 and is presented here with limited commercial interruption. In this episode, you’ll meet Judson and Barbara Styrker, who feared the worst when Barbara began displaying dementia-like symptoms. It wasn’t dementia or Alzheimer’s; it was a rare neurological but treatable condition, that, surprisingly, her husband also eventually developed. They share their remarkable story of recovery and hope.

Plus, Kimberly Ward lived 40 years with a hole in her heart and never knew about it until it was nearly too late. And you’ll meet a young woman whose life nearly ended when she was struck by a stray bullet. The shooting left her a quadriplegic and she thought her art dreams were over. Then, she discovered an unusual way of creating art, and it eventually captured the attention and admiration of actor Pierce Brosnan.