One March morning English teacher Mrs. Arambula woke with pain in her chest and not feeling well. She went about her normal day to day routine but throughout the day she felt worse and worse. She began to think it was the flu or bronchitis, but as the week progressed going through her day to day routine was hard.
Mrs. Arambula at the end of last year became sick with a virus which triggered a silent heart attack. A silent heart attack creates a blockage of blood flow to the heart muscle. During the summer, she was scheduled to receive a pacemaker but following the procedure, she faced some setbacks. After the pacemaker was put in, she suffered fever, pain and fluid in her lungs. The week of September 14 she was re-hospitalized and they began to treat her newfound conditions.
“The first day in the hospital was like a kaleidoscope,” Arambula said. “People rushing around. Lots of questions. Lots of tests. And for me the worst part: lots of needles.”
In the hospital, Mrs. Arambula faced many obstacles and setbacks. She went in first to have fluid from her lungs removed, and then they would go to work on her heart. Then on August 27 she went into surgery to have a pacemaker and defibrillator placed in her chest. The surgery was supposed to be a simple one but the doctor ran into some problems. Because of what they found during that surgery, Mrs. Arambula had to have another more serious one a few days later.
“My recovery has been difficult,” Arambula said. “I would get a little better then get worse again.”
She has since been out of the hospital and working toward a full recovery. She continues to have a fever and feel ill. Mrs. Arambula struggles with daily life and misses the way she was before all of the surgeries and health issues.
“The most difficult part of my recovery has been my inability to carry on with my life because of so many setbacks,” Mrs. Arambula said. “I had a particularly bad day when I was in the hospital on the first day of school. I think I cried the entire day.”
Mrs. Arambula has received support from her family, church friends and the staff at Legacy. The people from her congregation have come to visit her and circle around her. Mrs. Arambula has been moved by the amount of support she has received from everyone. The support at Legacy has been great. The other English teachers have stepped up and kept her classes running. Dr. Butler has been very supportive of her absence.
“My sister and husband were with me, which was comforting,” Mrs. Arambula said.
Mrs. Arambula can’t wait until she can return to Legacy. Mrs. Arambula hopes she will be back soon, so she can get back to her normal life.
“I miss my students and I miss the other teachers and staff,” Arambula said. “Looking forward to being back with them is my motivation to get well.”
