In California, Kathy Herrera recovering after surviving near fatal ailment

Kathy Herrera doesn’t scare easily.

That goes to show how harrowing the past few weeks have been for the former La Conner schools administrator who survived a recent near-death experience in California, where she is working on a charter campus after having taken a leave of absence here last spring.

A kidney donor who is no stranger to pressure, from her days as a competitive athlete to juggling multiple school duties in her career, Herrera isn’t one to fret.

But today, while recovering from an episode last month where she collapsed suddenly, stopped breathing and briefly had no pulse, Herrera can’t help but reflect with a certain degree of alarm over what might have been.

“It’s been a scary ride, for sure,” she told the Weekly News last Wednesday while recovering from surgery at Keck Hospital at the University of Southern California, where she underwent a robotic procedure that treated a hiatal hernia and tacked her stomach back in place.

A hiatal hernia is the protrusion of the stomach through the esophageal opening in the diaphragm.

Herrera had undergone two prior repairs for a hiatal hernia, but for several months had again been plagued by stomach discomfort.

“She had many trips to the doctor,” said Herrera’s sister, Kari Schori, “and had a few procedures done to try to find the cause.”

Nothing seemed to work, however.

Finally, feeling miserable and suffering from a bad headache with very low blood pressure, Herrera checked into a hospital in Bakersfield. She was eventually transferred to another medical center, where it was determined that a prior surgery to treat stomach acid reflux was failing. Herrera was released with instructions to follow up with her doctor.

“She felt decent for the week,” said Schori, “and tried to get on the doctor’s schedule but wasn’t having luck. (That) Saturday night she started feeling awful with a headache, nausea and weakness. Her friend, Helen Swall, told her she looked pale and took her blood pressure, which was dangerously low. Helen wanted to get her to the hospital.”

But moments later, Herrera collapsed. She was not breathing and had no pulse. Her stomach, in essence, was bleeding out.

“Helen’s husband, Victor Swall, is a police officer and sprung into action,” Schori said. “Helen got on the phone with 911 and her husband started a sternum rub.”

Quickly, Victor Swall was able to clear Herrera’s airway and she started to breathe.

That fast action by the Swalls saved her life.

“There is absolutely no doubt that if I had been alone, I would not be here today,” Herrera said. “Helen is so strong and was able to move me on her own and get the information out to 911 in a systematic way. The life-saving measures Victor performed to save me are nothing but heroic. I will never be able to repay them for what they did to save me but will spend a lifetime trying to do so.”

Herrera was taken by ambulance to the hospital, but it was determined that because of her past medical history the surgery she needed could not be performed there.

The situation was further complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Schori said.

“She ran into problems getting transferred,” Schori said, “with staffing shortages, bed shortages and the fact that she had stabilized with medication.

Eventually, a bed opened for Herrera at USC in Los Angeles, where her surgery, which lasted nearly five hours, took place Feb. 25.

Thus far, Herrera has been on the mend, resting as comfortably as can be expected.

“She will be able to return to work soon,” Schori said of Herrera, who since last fall has served as athletics director at Wonderful College Prep Academy in Delano, CA. “She doesn’t do a lot of lifting at work so she should be functioning again soon.”

High on Herrera’s to-do list is to visit La Conner, where her younger daughter, Makayla, is a high school student and was a key member of the Lady Braves’ 2021 state 2B volleyball tournament championship team.

Schori said throughout the ordeal, as always, Herrera has been an inspiration.

“I’m her sister,” she noted with pride, “and she’s my hero.”

Herrera acknowledged this has been the most difficult time in her life, though she said she has been sustained through love and prayers shared by friends and family across the country.

“This experience,” she stressed, “has opened my eyes to the reality that you never know when your time to go will be, so live life to the fullest and without any regrets.”