Thankful People: Successful business, recovery from health problems make couple thankful

Curt and Penny Johns have four decades of business ownership to be thankful for, but after a significant health scare for each, their gratitude goes much deeper.

The couple owns Guy's Big●Tall in Cape Girardeau and will close the store Dec. 18, retiring in order to travel and work on various remodeling projects — oh, and rest a bit, too.

Penny Johns said the business began as a means to an end — supporting their family — but has been much more.

"There was a need for us to be here because people needed clothing that fit right. They needed somebody to be here to help them," she said. "I think the thing that kept us going was that we actually care, and we want our customers to look good."

That personal touch led to generations of loyal customers.

"Once you took care of them and put a little love into it and helped them, then they kept coming back," Penny Johns contended.

Heart trouble

All those years of building the business was in jeopardy in 2017 when Curt Johns suffered a "widowmaker" heart attack.

He said the episode came out of nowhere and led to triple bypass surgery. Then came the recovery.

"It takes time to rebuild your body, is the best way for me to say it. You lose an awful lot of muscle," he explained. "You thought walking 5 miles was easy. It's like starting all over again."

After a rehabilitation program, Curt Johns returned to work, albeit a little at a time. Two hours a day. Then three.

In the aftermath of the episode, the couple learned about the large support group — a "safety net" — of family and friends who stepped up to offer help and encouragement.

"A lot of people cared," Curt Johns said.

Cancer diagnosis

If his health scare could have been worse, Penny Johns' could scarcely have turned out better.

Several symptoms led her to seek medical attention, and a biopsy revealed early stage uterine cancer.

But from there, a series of things occurred to convince her divine intervention was at work.

Before Penny's first meeting with her surgeon, she prayed for a positive sign.

"When he was examining me, his phone went off, and it was church bells. So, how can you say it wasn't God's intervention?" she asked. "It was God telling me, 'It's going to be OK.' So, I was like, 'OK, I can do this.'"

Several tests that would normally require weeks to schedule and complete were taken care of in one day.

She was told a wait for a piece of equipment necessary for the surgery would be two months. The surgery occurred four days later.

The surgeon said he was uncertain whether the cancer had been contained in the uterus or had spread. The surgery revealed a tightly contained cancer.

"That's the blessing. I didn't have to do radiation. I didn't have to do chemo," she noted. "It was just a true miracle, the whole thing."

With those life-threatening health episodes in the past and retirement looming, the couple is thankful for the present.

"I really think Curt and I were meant to be in this store," Penny Johns said. "When we first opened, it was to make a living. I think toward the end, I am seeing we were meant to be here — to clothe all these people, yes, but I also think because they needed an ear, and that's what we'll miss, the blessing of all our friends."