Local educator reunites with some of those who saved her life

For a time last year, it looked as though Stacey Olson might not live to see another Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Thanks to fast-acting friends and first responders on what she calls the worst day of her life, she is now doing much better and has returned to work as a special education teacher at Nodaway Valley Elementary School.

The day before Thanksgiving break in 2024, Olson was at her desk filing papers when a neighboring teacher heard her gasp for air. School staff found her unresponsive and quickly began life-saving measures that proved critical.

First responders arrived and continued those efforts. Olson said she has since been told she went into cardiac arrest more than once before she was airlifted from the school to a Des Moines hospital.

“They saw me on my worst day,” Olson said. “Apparently I died a few times that day.”

In Des Moines, surgeons placed a stent in her heart — a tiny, expandable mesh tube inserted into a blocked or narrowed coronary artery to hold it open and improve blood flow.

Doctors considered installing a pacemaker, but instead sent her home with a wearable vest that monitored her heart and could shock it back into rhythm if necessary.

A short time after being released from the hospital, Olson experienced another episode, and the vest’s shock feature was activated. She was taken by ambulance from her home in Cumberland and spent additional time in the hospital, this time at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. She was not released until mid-January.

Olson credits her faith and her husband, Mark, with helping her cope with the medical setbacks.

Doctors believe her heart issues may have been connected to her breast cancer treatment — specifically, the strong chemotherapy she received.

“It was a small cancer, but very aggressive, so the chemo was very strong,” Olson said.

She finished chemotherapy last March and returned to work early the following month. Throughout the ordeal, she received cards and support from students and co-workers. On the day she nearly died, staff members gathered to pray for her.

This Thanksgiving week, Olson decided to gather as many people as possible who supported her on the day of her cardiac arrest to thank them one year later. A small group of school staff and first responders met with her Wednesday, Nov. 26, at Moe’s RBF to celebrate the fact that she survived.

“I wanted them to come together so I could thank them personally,” Olson said. “We did that, and we talked about some of the things that happened that day. I told them, ‘I just don’t remember much of anything.’ They were glad to see I’m doing well, especially [school nurse] Cheyanne Warrior, who gets to see me at school every day. It was just a really good day with good people. I thank them so much for giving me the gift of life.”