DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Davie schoolteacher is grateful to be alive and counting her blessings after she survived an arduous hospital stay battling COVID-19.
Stefanie Miller, who teaches at Fox Trail Elementary School, spoke with 7News on Tuesday, more than a month after she was discharged from Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines.
“I literally was fighting for my life,” she said.
Miller said she can only remember one thing during her weeks on a ventilator.
“I was fighting with the room, pleading with it to let me go back to my family and my life,” she said, “and I kept trying every day to figure out a way to get out of this haunted room.”
She pulled through and was able to leave the hospital at the end of May.
Her journey, however, is just beginning.
“I’m relearning to walk and talk. My vocal cords were damaged, so I need speech therapy,” she said, “but I’m glad to be alive and doing what I can to regain my strength.”
Miller, who teaches second grade students, said that while she’s eager to see her students, she’s not ready to do so in person, at least not yet.
“Once you pack a room full, let’s see how it takes off then, and they may get a mild case or severe. Same thing with bringing it home to their families, and it’s a roll of the dice,” she said. “Maybe online teaching isn’t optimal, but we are very adaptable, and we’ll make it good for the kids however we have to. That’s what teachers do.”
Miller and her mother, Faye Gogielgarn, said they’re aware many South Floridians are experiencing financial hardships due to closures and other safety restrictions being enforced to help stem the spread of the virus, but their safety and well-being should always come first.
“As much as everybody wants to get the economy going and get back to work, first we have to get well,” said Gogielgarn, who also became infected with COVID-19.
“Life is precious,” said Miller.
Miller said she will return to teaching in the fall if Broward schools opt to hold classes online.
Anyone with questions and concerns about the coronavirus can call the Florida Department of Health’s 24-hour hotline at 1-866-779-6121.
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