After battling leukemia, Mr. Arnold is in remission and has returned to school to continue his passion for teaching.
In 2021, Mr. Arnold took a leave of absence due to being diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). AML is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
He started to feel really bad, which led to his diagnosis and caused him to not teach for the 2022/2023 school year.
“I was feeling really tired and sick and I didn’t know why, and I went to the doctor for a test and then, I passed out and was admitted to the hospital”, Mr. Arnold said. ”That was the day they checked me and my bloodwork and told me I had cancer.”
A lot of Mr. Arnold’s students were devastated when they first found out the news. They were told via email in April of 2021.
Senior Jack Villano, who is a low brass section leader for the marching band, took the news of his diagnosis especially hard.
“At first I didn’t really believe it because someone walked up to me and said ‘did you hear the news?’ and then showed me an email and so I didn’t believe it at first and then it kinda hit me” Villano said. “Band and music is really important to me and he’s like not necessarily an idol but someone to look up to and it was kinda crushing when I heard about it. Leukemia is serious business”.
While Mr. Arnold was gone, the band continued on with their concert band and marching band seasons with assistants Mr. Fields and Ms. Simmerman in charge. The band stayed positive and motivated to keep striving to achieve their superior rating in OMEA.
Senior Erin Bowling, the drum major of the marching band, was proud of the marching band season last year, given that Mr. Arnold wasn’t there.
“I think we were all really motivated and that helped because none of the members really had to say it but we all knew that everything that we were doing was for Arnold and Mr. Fields did an amazing job stepping up and none of us were prepared for that and especially him, so given the circumstances, I think Fields did amazing in taking over and I think that we had a successful efficient season”, Bowling said.
Around late spring and early summer of 2023, students found out that Arnold was returning for this school year.
“I would say by the spring, around April or May, the doctor said I would be well enough to work again, and I got really excited of course,” Mr. Arnold said.
Although Mr. Arnold was excited about returning to school, he was also nervous.
“Actually I was very nervous when I came back, and that I would not have enough strength to do it, the physical strength and endurance to do the job, but we have proved that wrong so far, so that’s great,” Mr. Arnold said.
Students were very happy to hear that he’s returning.
“ It was like a drive and I think this year there is a lot more push to become good and to become better than we were.” Jack Villano said. “I think overall I mean personally I think for other people, people are like happy he is back and the attitudes in these programs are a lot better than they were a year before.”
Throughout Mr. Arnold’s experience, he has learned many things about teaching and the impact that people have on each other.
“One of the things that I thought was very powerful about the experience is realizing the impact I had on other people, with students, with staff, but also I feel like students have had a huge impact on me as well,” Mr Arnold said. “It’s a two way street, just based on the letters and the cards and the things I received and the things people said, I think it helped me want to get better so when I had a bad day or I didn’t feel good and I would hear a positive, it would change my mental status, so that was powerful. I didn’t expect all of the love . I mean I knew the impact was there as a teacher, I don’t think you realize how much you impact other people, so that was probably one of my biggest takeaways, and that I wanted to come back and make more memories with the kids and teach for a few more years.”
