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Jackson Miracle Stories
Jackson Miracle Stories
Your dollars at work.
Tangela McBride
It’s been more than a year since the medical crisis that forever changed Tangela McBride’s life.
“Everyone tells me God still has a bigger plan for me.”
On September 13, 2024, McBride had a heart attack in front of her kindergarten class. She was rushed to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson South. Nearly 10 days later, she was discharged with an implanted defibrillator; the device applies an electrical charge to keep a steady heartbeat.
“I can’t thank the doctors enough for what they did for me,” McBride said.
Tangela returned to work on November 4, 2024. She was welcomed back with a badge of honor, t-shirts, and a parade decked out in her favorite color—purple. The administration also made sure to put Tangela in a less physically involved classroom, now she teaches second grade.
“I think the grade itself is very demanding and the kids require a lot so I wanted to be with an older group,” added McBride. “A lot of the kids I’m teaching now, I taught in kindergarten so I’m familiar with those students.”
Tangela considers September 13 her second birthday and 13 her lucky number. She uses the day to celebrate her triumph rather than focusing on the trauma.
“The number 13 is a significant number for me because my situation happened on the 13th and then 13 days later, I was blessed with a great grandbaby,” Tangela said.
With her second chance at life, Tangela makes sure to keep every second busy with travel, family, or education.
“One of the things I’ve kept busy with is that I went back to school to get my second masters,” said McBride.
“I’ve also done a lot of traveling this past year and spending plenty of time with my family.”
A year later, her mind hasn’t changed as she shares that Jackson is the only place she trusts with her health.
Richard Vargas
Richard Vargas, 35, is a coach at CKO Kickboxing River Landing, where he teaches a special monthly class in partnership with Christine E. Lynn Rehabilitation Center for The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at UHealth/Jackson Memorial. The class, Special and Strong, is open to rehab patients with traumatic brain injuries and other neurological or physical disabilities. But what makes the partnership truly unique is that Vargas isn’t just a coach, he’s a former patient at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
“It was just a regular day,” Vargas recalled. “I went to the bathroom, and suddenly, I felt a very sharp pain in my head. It lasted for about 20 seconds; the longest 20 seconds of my life.”
The next thing he remembers is waking up in a hospital, blind and unable to move.
“The only thing I remember hearing was, ‘He has a brain bleed,’ and I started panicking,” he said. “I panic easily, and I just remember feeling so scared.”
Doctors at Jackson Memorial diagnosed him with a severe brain bleed. A 10-hour surgery saved Vargas’s life, but his recovery was just beginning.
“When I woke up, I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t do anything,” he said. “But I’m very grateful for every milestone and every bump in the road. That’s what made me who I am today.”
Vargas began rehabilitation at Lynn Rehabilitation Center, working closely with physical, occupational, and speech therapists. At first, he struggled with the emotional toll of recovery.
“I was bitter. I hated my life,” he said. “I hated waking up in the morning because I only felt pain. I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t do anything. The therapists would walk in all sweet, and I’d give them attitude. But they kept showing up. They got me out of bed. They helped me walk again.”
Through a lot of hard work and rehabilitation, Vargas was discharged from Lynn Rehabilitation Center. Once out of the hospital, he continued to push himself through recovery.
Tangela McBride
Tangela McBride, 54, has worked as an educator for many years.
“I fell in love with working with kids after being a teacher’s assistant,” McBride said. “In 2016, I started teaching full time. I love what I do.”
She never thought her life would be in jeopardy when she suffered a heart attack in the middle of her classroom.
On September 13, 2024, McBride was teaching when she collapsed on the floor. Fortunately, the school’s music teacher went looking for her. When she knocked on McBride’s classroom door, a 5-year-old student opened it, and her colleague saw her unresponsive.
The music teacher immediately ran to check McBride’s pulse, and called for help. Within minutes, the school’s police officer performed CPR and shocked McBride with an automated external defibrillator – an action that potentially saved her life.
When emergency medical services arrived, they continued treatment and rushed her to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson South.
“The patient came in intubated and sedated – we kept her intubated because we wanted to run some scans to pinpoint exactly what caused the heart attack,” said Andrew Pastewski, MD, medical director of Jackson South’s intensive care unit (ICU). “After several tests, the patient started to have purposeful movements, which is a sign the brain didn’t go without oxygen.”
In the ICU, a team led by Dr. Pastewski and Bashar Obeidou, MD, an interventional cardiologist at Jackson South, initiated a cardiac work-up, which showed a completely normal heart function.
Within 24 hours, McBride’s condition improved. To help prevent future heart attacks, a team led by Ivan Mendoza, MD, chief of cardiology at Jackson West, implanted a defibrillator – a device that applies an electric charge or current to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat.
Dylan Smith
June 22, 2025, was a normal summer Sunday for the Smith family. Brandon Smith was barbecuing, Tiffany Smith was back-to-school shopping on her phone, and the kids, 8-year-old Dylan and 13-year-old Olivia, were playing in the pool.
“The kids were competing with who could go back and forth the longest while holding their breath in the pool,” Tiffany said. “Dylan, being fearless and resilient, had to outdo his sister.”
The day quickly turned into a nightmare when Tiffany realized the pool had fallen silent.
“He tried to hold his breath a little too long, and that’s what caused him to pass out. I was the one who found him in the pool,” she said. “And I found him because it was too quiet. It’s never quiet in my house. It wasn’t one of those scenes out of a movie where somebody is splashing around, asking for help.”
Just minutes earlier, Brandon had gone inside to change. When he heard his wife scream, he ran outside to see Tiffany holding an unconscious Dylan.
“Before I did anything, I just said a prayer. I laid him flat and started CPR. Tiffany called 911,” he said.
Both Brandon and Tiffany are CPR-certified and knew exactly what to do. Meanwhile, Olivia ran to nearby houses for help.
Luckily, one of the neighbors remembered that a few doors down lived someone who works in the medical field.
“The adrenaline kicked in,” said Lissette Medina, a physician assistant for Shriners Children’s Orthopedic Center at UHealth Jackson Children’s Care. “It was the most scared I’ve ever been in the 16 years of my career.”
Medina rushed over, identified herself, and took over CPR, continuing chest compressions for more than seven minutes until paramedics arrived.
“The clinical part of my brain was what kept acting,” she said. “But my biggest fear was knowing Dylan’s life was literally in my hands. Something came over me and just told me to act.”
Paramedics arrived and inserted a breathing tube before taking Dylan to Jackson South Medical Center, where doctors stabilized him. He was then transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Holtz Children’s Hospital.