Returning To The BOE After A Health Scare—

Lillian Bittman Is Back On Board

By Eliza Hallabeck

After needing to take a three-month leave of absence from her position on the Board of Education, School Board Vice Chair Lillian Bittman will officially return for the next board meeting, scheduled for August 11.

Ms Bittman attended an executive session of the school board on July 16 to interview, discuss, and vote on the next board of education member, who will replace a position held by Kathleen Chrystie since late October (see “Newcomer Bill Hart Excited To Start On School Board,” this week).

Ms Chrystie resigned her position after announcing plans to move with her family to Europe. Ms Bittman said Board of Education Chair Elaine McClure asked her to attend the interview meeting knowing Ms Bittman would be officially back for the following regular meeting of the school board, because, Ms Bittman said, Ms McClure was under the impression few members of the school board would be in attendance to interview the candidates.

Ms Bittman’s return to the school board comes after months of taking time to understand what happened to her during a family vacation to Disney World, where she suffered a stroke after riding a roller coaster.

“This was a very life-changing experience for me,” Ms Bittman said.

After returning from the vacation Ms Bittman said she was in a difficult emotional state.

“I knew, emotionally, I wasn’t in the frame of mind to deal with what the board was going through at the time,” she said.

On the last day of her family vacation, Ms Bittman went on one last ride, the Rock ‘n’ Rollin roller coaster at MGM Studios in Disney. After the ride, she walked about five steps and then became dizzy. She began to walk sideways, and she said, “My whole left side felt like it was in outer space. That is the best way to describe it.”

Ms Bittman said family history had made her knowledgeable about the symptoms and signs of a stroke. When she experienced her reactions after the roller coaster, she did a “shake test” and could not feel her left leg.

Now Ms Bittman said she is blessed and lucky to have survived without harm or repercussions.

While at the hospital in Florida, when she asked what had happened to her, Ms Bittman was told by her attending physician that what she suffered from after the ride happens all the time. Since returning home, she said, she and her husband have done research into what brought on the reaction from the ride.

Her doctor in the hospital told her at the time that what she suffered from can happen to people hours after getting off of a ride, and the particular ride she was on brings more people into the hospital than others.

Ms Bittman said what she suffered is not age dependent. Suffering from it actually depends on the type of roller coaster. While at the hospital she said she learned plaque had been shaken from her carotid artery. The loosened plaque then traveled to her brain, causing the stroke. She does not have high cholesterol, but, since suffering from the stroke, has been placed on medication.

In her case, Ms Bittman said, the roller coaster was both fast and included quick turns and jolts. With no head holders, riders are jostled quite a bit.

“People don’t know,” said Ms Bittman, who also said she will pay closer attention to the rides her children ride. She said she will not stop them from riding roller coasters, but will pay close attention to the rides that are safer.

“I’ve learned a lot and it really made me think,” said Ms Bittman.

Now in returning to the school board for her third year in the elected position, Ms Bittman said she is thankful to the residents of Newtown for being patient with her while she worked through the ordeal.

The experience, she said, will help her focus herself between being both a school board member and active in other areas of her life.

“Like any new job, my first year, I completely gave myself over to it,” Ms Bittman said. In her second year she said she tried to find a balance, but it was only a start.

“It was just a wake-up call to me,” Ms Bittman said, adding she will continue the focus she began during her last year on the board with more determination now. She said she will continue to be committed to serving on the school board while being more purposeful in other areas of her life.