Real-life family medical emergency puts Midland College student on Respiratory Care pathMay 26, 2020

Martha Herrera was in the midst of her second semester at Midland College (MC) when her mother started having chest pains. Her family was not ready for what happened next.

“Once doctors checked my mom they found the LAD artery of her heart was 80 percent occluded,” Herrera recalled. “Doctors told me they would have to put a stent in her artery to prevent her from having a heart attack. They said she would be fine, but by the end of the week she had to go back to the emergency room. The stent had collapsed, and she was now 90 percent occluded.”

Herrera’s mother was flown to Lubbock for emergency surgery. Martha had not yet selected an academic program at MC. She knew she was interested in the medical field and was in the midst of taking an anatomy and physiology class, so she was acutely aware of what was happening.

“My mom had to have open heart surgery,” Herrera said. “It was really scary because we did not know the outcome she would have. When she came out of surgery she was on a ventilator, and the instant I saw that machine, I wanted to know everything about it because it was keeping her alive. I thought, ‘This medical specialty is what I want to do with my life.’ Ever since then I have been going down the respiratory care path at MC.”

Herrera’s Mom responded well to the surgery and is doing fine to this day. She and Martha are very close, and they enjoy making tamales and going dancing together.

“Thank God the doctors realized the signs of heart issues in my Mom and decided to do a study to check if her heart was working adequately. After realizing it was not, they acted quickly,” Herrera said. “If they had not, she would have had a heart attack and possibly would not have made it.”

Herrera is one of six children and is the oldest girl. She originally chose to come to MC because of the variety of medical programs it offers like respiratory therapy, sonography, emergency medical services and nursing. She said that MC’s healthcare training and labs have given her an advantage in her career.

“MC’s medical simulation lab is great,” Herrera said. “We practice intubating the manikins, and we have several different models of ventilators. Having a variety of equipment gives us confidence. When we participate in clinicals at different hospitals, we always impress the staff with our knowledge and familiarity with their state-of–the-art equipment.”

Herrera is very dedicated in and out of the classroom. Before Coronavirus, she worked 12-hour shifts Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at Midland Health. She had clinicals at Midland Health, Odessa Medical Center and Odessa Regional on Mondays and Fridays, and class at MC on Wednesdays. That schedule left only one day a week to herself. The pandemic has kept all students away from hospital settings for their safety. Once they have their license they can work. Herrera wants to be doing more. 

“I wish I would be able to go full speed with helping patients during this time,” Hererra said.

Herrera explained that many people have preconceived notions of what a respiratory therapist does, but they are usually wrong. Every day, every shift is new and exciting.

“A lot of people think respiratory therapists just give breathing treatments, but we do so much more,” Herrera said. “Every time I leave a shift at Midland Health and/or the other hospitals we attend, I always think, ‘Today was another great day of being exposed to things I never thought I would see.’ Shifts are always go, go, go, go. If you love an adrenaline rush, respiratory care is for you. As respiratory therapists we do not stay in one place in the hospital; we are all over. A respiratory therapist has to attend every trauma and code. We give breath to patients in every scenario; from tiny premature babies to adults who are in the end stage of their life, and everybody in between; we care for them all. Respiratory therapy is a really interesting field. It is great to be able to impact a patient’s life in a positive way and help somebody live and breathe again. I do not think of myself as just a student, but rather as a valuable member of a lifesaving team.”

Speaking of teams, Herrera sees her family as a close-knit team, and she is a great role model for them. Once she graduates, she will be the first person in her family to get a degree.

“Receiving my degree will be a great accomplishment,” Herrera said. “I am so excited for my family to look at me and say, ‘if she could do it, I can do it too.’ It makes me feel good that they can call me and ask me questions, and I can give them valuable advice about higher education. It is nice to know they are proud of me and they appreciate my experience and recommendations. One day I hope my sisters and brothers will also go to college because I started them on this path with my example. I am proud to say I will graduate college from MC, and I can save lives with my degree.”