How Father Steven Arisman’s cardiac episode made him appreciate love even more and what you can learn from his story about suffering

By ANDREW HANSEN
Editor

On Nov. 21, 2024, Father Steven Arisman went to bed after attending a wedding in Florida. That’s when stomach pains and other health issues started to pop up. At first, he figured it only minor. After arriving back in Illinois after a flight to Springfield, Father Arisman hit the road to Quincy, where he is pastor at St. Francis Solanus Parish. 

“On the way there, I kind of had a thought in my head that I just don’t feel right, and I used to work in an emergency room, and that’s when it hit me that all of the symptoms I was feeling were cardiac related,” he said.

He had chest pain, back pain, neck pain, headache, nausea, left arm pain, and left arm numbness. So, he checked himself into Blessing Hospital in Quincy and tests showed he was facing a cardiac episode. He was told that he had three arteries that had 99% blockages, another artery had 96% blockage, and a total of more than 20 other blockages that were in the range of 80-90% blockage. 

 his main arteries in his heart had 99 percent blockage. He was transferred to St. John’s Hospital in Springfield for open heart surgery. 

“I freaked a lot of people out because I wanted to make sure my funeral arrangements were prepared, and making sure you tell people you love them, and having those kinds of discussions with people, and having the discussions with my family about what I wanted to be done if something would happen to me, if I coded or my heart stopped, what I would want,” Father Arisman said. “Those discussions are not easy to have. I mean, a few days ago I was in Florida having a good time and now here I am thinking about my funeral.

“The biggest thing, I kept telling people is that I wasn’t afraid to die. I was more afraid for my family and my friends. I was really sad about that. What made me cry the most was thinking, ‘Well, if I die, they’re going to have to deal with my death and all the things.’ That was the hardest part for me.”

Fortunately, despite his precarious medical situation, the medical team at St. John’s did an amazing job, and he survived surgery, but that is when pain he never thought possible started. He had a wound in his chest that was the entire length of his sternum. 

“They cut me open, and they actually pulled me apart to get to my heart to be able to do the procedure,” Father Arisman said. “It’s about as invasive as you can get of a procedure, and it’s also one of the most painful because most people don’t realize how much they use their chest to breathe, to cough, and to laugh. So, taking a deep breath was really terrible. Laughing hurt. So, I told people, ‘You can’t be funny when you come to visit me.’ They wanted me to cough a lot to clear my lungs, but also that’s one of the most painful things. Sneezing was so painful it made me cry.”

Despite all the pain, Father Arisman clung to the Catholic faith. First, he thanked God he was alive. 

“I had multiple physicians make some kind of comment about I was lucky to be alive. I had one get teary eyed and told me that it was divine providence that I’m still here because I really shouldn’t be. I had others that told me that somebody’s obviously looking out for me because I shouldn’t be here.”

Next, Father Arisman started to think about questions such as why was he put through this, why did he survive, and what did he learn throughout this ordeal. 

“I had a friend who had a miraculous healing, and he would actually talk about feeling guilty, and I did too,” Father Arisman said. “I still kind of do at times when I hear somebody who didn’t recover or had a heart attack or coded, and they were doing CPR and shocked them, and they lost them. So, there is a little bit of guilt like of why me and why not other people. 

“That said, the number one thing I did was trust in God. Don’t question a lot of things. Know that He’s got you. That was the biggest thing is if I died, He’s got me. I had all the sacraments preparing for this.

“I offered as much of the suffering as I could for people who are in need, for people who have their own suffering, for parishioners, for my parish, for my people, for my family, for people who are away from the Church

“It’s a very powerful form of prayer (suffering) that I wish more people would use. In that moment where you can offer your suffering to the cross, the cross looks like it’s death and misery and pain and being conquered, but really, it’s the opposite. It’s life and it’s conquering death.”

In the weeks and months that followed, Father Arisman had some more medical issues arise, but after those were addressed, he returned to his parish in May to start ministering to his people again. 

“All this has made me appreciate the people in my life more, especially my family. At the same time, I think one of the most powerful things is seeing how much of an effect your priesthood has on people. I saw that in the cards and the notes that people sent and the outpouring of love from people. To have people show you God’s love is powerful.”