He survived a heart attack, spine surgery and long COVID. Meet 'Comeback King' Corey Queen
If success in life is measured by the ability to get back up after you’ve been knocked down, Corey Queen is "The Comeback King."

Looking at this fit 51-year-old Kentucky native today, it's difficult to comprehend all he has survived. The list is long and includes abuse as a child, high blood pressure, obesity, a heart attack, spinal surgery and long-term COVID-19.

Queen is one of the nearly 19% of adults in the United States who had COVID-19 and still suffers from "long COVID," which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines as having COVID-19 symptoms "that they didn’t have prior to their ... infection" that last three or more months after first contracting the virus.

Yet despite this catalog of debilitating health issues, Queen "never gives up," he says, and the Louisville man faces each day grateful for his numerous second chances.

"I firmly believe that for every step backward, it is possible to continue to take greater strides if I keep moving forward," he said. "I truly believe running saved my life."

A dire health warning and a painful, short run
Queen told the Courier Journal that in 2010 his doctor warned him he'd likely die if his blood pressure wasn't brought under control.

"I left the office determined to change, not by taking even more blood pressure medication but by improving my health," he said. "I thought about my life and realized I was wasting at least an hour a day on stupid meaningless stuff and committed to using that time to exercise."

A former St. Xavier High School and collegiate track sprinter, Queen hadn't run in many years but was determined to try.

"I had basketball shoes. I told my wife I would take my cellphone and call her if I needed her and then I literally tried to sprint down the street," remembered Queen. "Keep in mind my goal was to exercise for an hour each day but when I called my wife for a ride home, I had only made it a quarter of a mile from my front door."

It's at this point many people would toss in the towel, but Queen, who calls himself "a goal-driven person," did the opposite.

"He's always been someone who is committed to his goals," said Damary Queen, his wife of 20 years. "He's like that with his family, his work and his health."

After his first miserable running experience, Queen doubled down. He bought a pair of real running shoes and declared he would train for a full 26-mile marathon.

"I know that sounds crazy, but I like goals that scare me. I read a book for beginner runners, 'The Courage Start,' and a year later completed a marathon so slowly they ran out of medals before I got to the finish line," Queen said. "I still feel cheated out of that moment in my very first race."

Queen does, however, have a permanent reminder of his triumph. The date of his first marathon, "4-30-11," is tattooed on his bicep. Over the next decade, a quick glance at his upper arm and the inked reminder would motivate him in ways he had yet to imagine.

Although he said the effort to complete his first marathon nearly broke him, Queen continued to train and enter local races. Once 270 pounds, Queen slimmed down, was getting healthier and fitter, and his blood pressure had decreased. He continued to use that hour a day (and often more) to run and work out in his home gym.

In 2012, he returned to the same marathon course and ran 40 minutes faster. That year, he did receive a medal at the finish line, and just like Forrest Gump, Queen kept running.

A stress-induced heart attack from past trauma
In 2014, Queen was loving life. He and his wife, Damary, now had four children, three girls and a boy. He felt healthy and fit. He woke up every morning at 3 a.m. (and still does) to complete his workouts before fixing his four children breakfast and taking them to school.

"People always ask me why I get up so early but for me, it's the best way to start my day," she said. "And as our family grew, it helped ensure I didn't have any excuses for not getting in my workout."

His wife says the early morning start also allows her husband to spend quality time with the kids after school.

But then, three years after Queen had embarked on his lifesaving journey, he started to feel bad at work. He called his wife to let her know he was going to the hospital. He was having a heart attack.

"It was a stress-induced heart attack; I had zero blockage in my arteries," Queen said. "A lot of my stress was coming from the abuse I experienced as a child, and it was made clear I needed to deal with that trauma."

After he was cleared by his doctor, Queen could have used the heart attack as an excuse to alter his fitness commitment, but he chose to keep running. In fact, he ran enough races that he was now getting recognized at organized events because of the Superman T-shirt with the names of his four children on the back.

"My goal was never to be fast, it was to set the goal and finish," he said. "I want to be an example to my kids that when you try your hardest, no matter what the outcome, it equals success."

A neck injury followed by a long COVID-19 diagnosis
Queen was counting his blessings in 2019 when he encountered another setback. He had finished another 26-mile marathon when the pain in his neck became so unbearable he was forced to seek medical attention, again.

"For some reason, my C3-C7 vertebrae were compressed," Queen said. "I had spinal surgery and had to stop exercising to protect the healing in my neck. I gained back a lot of weight."

When he was cleared to run, he couldn't make it more than 2 miles without considerable effort. Again, he was out of shape but determined to overcome his most recent setback.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything.

Queen was homeschooling his four children during the early days of the pandemic when schools were being taught online. His wife was working full time at Norton Healthcare, and the family was being careful to isolate to protect their health.

In January of 2021, when the world was starting to reopen and we were all being encouraged to continue wearing masks until a vaccine was released, Queen took his daughter to a club volleyball tournament in another state.

"I was wearing a mask; my daughter's team played wearing masks, but the other team and their parents did not wear masks," Queen said. "I called my wife and half joking said, 'If I get COVID, we'll know where it came from.'"

Five days later, Queen, his wife, and their daughter woke up with high fevers. Although his daughter and wife recovered quickly, Queen got sicker.

"I tried not to let it show but I was terrified for Corey," remembers Damary Queen.

After weeks with a 103 temperature, a deflated lung and take-home oxygen, Queen was diagnosed with long COVID. With that, he joined the 6.9% of adults who ever had long COVID and 3.4% of adults suffering from long COVID, according to 2022 data from the CDC.

"It was such an effort just to get out of bed and into the shower I knew that if I survived I would never take my health for granted," he said.

Although his care through the Norton Healthcare Long-term COVID program has been what he calls "amazing," Queen said he continues to suffer from asthma and debilitating migraines. The marathon runner now uses an inhaler to help him breathe and for his headaches, receives 30 injections of Botox in his head, neck, and face every 90 days to relieve the pain.

As a result of his ongoing battle with COVID-19, Queen gained weight and lost all of his fitness gains. Essentially Queen found himself starting from the bottom, again.

Why, for him, 'running is a beautiful metaphor for life'
After six months of inactivity, "I was now wearing size 4X t-shirts and my knees started to really hurt because my body was not used to carrying so much body fat," Queen said. "I knew I had to do something ... but I felt like I was never going to be able to catch up to it on my own."

So, Queen went to Norton Healthcare Weight Management where he underwent Bariatric surgery.

"Essentially they remove 90% of your stomach," he said. "You go through a lot of screenings, (and) classes to learn about healthy nutrition and fitness and I can use those experts and classes for the rest of my life."

Since his surgery in 2022, Queen's transformation has been significant. Having once topped the scale at close to 300 pounds, today he weighs 164 pounds. And yes, he's back running and rising every morning at 3 a.m. He's also discovered a new career as a full-time employee at Fleet Feet, a local running store.

"I have the opportunity to share my story with customers who might be experiencing setbacks," Queen said. "And who would have thought that at 51 years old, I would have abs and am running fast enough that I am winning my age group in local races."

In July, he competed in his first ultra-marathon, an eight-hour endurance race where he clocked in 32 slow and steady miles.

"Running is a beautiful metaphor for life," he reflects. "I may run some miles fast and some miles slow but it's always going to be one foot forward and another foot forward and as long as I keep giving my best effort, no matter if it's fast or slow, I will get to the finish."

People love success stories but don’t always get to see the grit behind them. Queen could have walked out of his doctor's office in 2011 and never suffered through that first miserable quarter of a mile run.

He could have become complacent after his heart attack or spinal surgery and he had every right to blame the COVID-19 virus on his recent physical setbacks.

He could have given up, but that is not how Corey Queen "The Comeback King" chooses to live his life.

"I refuse to come this far and be stagnant and lazily content," he said. "I am still here, standing and I am thriving. So the last thing I am going to do is waste a blessing."