Gilbert Arizola, a citizen of Laredo, fought for his life for 7 long hard weeks as he tried to overcome the threatening battle against TENS.

TENS stands for Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Syndrome, a severe dermatological condition that is frequently induced by reaction to medications.

In November 2008, Arizola returned from a job-required trip with hives, irritated eyes, and itching all over his body. Worried with what was going on, he and his common-law wife, Yolanda Otero, rushed to University Hospital in San Antonio where he was hospitalized for pneumonia.

Arizola’s body rejected the antibiotic prescribed by the doctors to treat the pneumonia. Doctors said his immune system was too weak to handle the treatment.

Arizola began developing high fevers, blisters, and red skin. He was taken to University Hospital once again on December 5, 2008 where he was hospitalized for the allergic reaction, which became more complicated. The doctors said he was burning inside out.
 
On December 7, Arizola was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio where he was diagnosed with TENS.

Arizola had to be scrubbed down to remove all dead skin to prevent any bacteria and other infections.

“It was the most painful and scariest time of the whole time I was there. I was yelling and crying and felt like everyone could hear me scream. It was unexplainable pain,” Arizola said.
Doctors walked in around midnight to explain the situation to Otero and Arizola.

“Doctors informed us that before we saw him get better everything was going to get worse,” Otero said.

Arizola’s blisters were so severe; doctors had to clear him of all body hair. He started developing internal blisters that resulted in him requiring the use of a feeding tube.

Arizola went into coma 2 weeks after being hospitalized where he’d spend the next 3 weeks.
“It felt like one week or just 3 days when in reality 3 weeks passed by,” he said.

Arizola was put on medication stronger than morphine for his pain. As an effect to the pain killers, he started having hallucinations and bad nightmares.

“I started having nightmares that felt real, like if I was going through them. Nothing good, yet nothing suicidal.”

He explained a specific nightmare he remembered.

“I remember in one of my dreams I woke up and looked down and saw my fingernails painted black. When I really woke up, I looked down and saw I had black all over the body,” he said.

Arizola explained that the black he saw was actually medication used to prevent any further infections.

After recovering from his coma, Arizola had no knowledge of what was happening.

After his feeding tube was removed, a nutritionist put Arizola on a diet. He was told that if he didn’t gain a certain amount of pounds in a certain amount of days, he would have to be put back on the feeding tube.

“Doctors informed us that when the feeding tube was removed he was going to gain consciousness but they weren’t sure if he was going to get better,” Otero said.

Arizola had to go to therapy in San Antonio to regain movement.

“I would take 5 to 8 slow steps and felt exhausted, like I was almost going to pass out,” Arizola said.

Arizola had the support of his loving family the entire time he was going through this tough battle and recovering.

“His mother never left his side. I would come and go at the beginning, afterwards I was always there. I would run errands and come right back. His sister Gracy and I would alternate back and forth. His brother Guadalupe caught a glimpse of Gilbert, turned around and broke down crying. It was hard for the family to see all the changes,” Otero said.

Arizola received many blessings and prayers from family and friends.

“He couldn’t have done it without everyone’s help. Thank God he’s here,” Otero said.

Along with his family’s loving support, Arizola had the right attitude to recover. He now appreciates the things he didn’t notice before.

“I appreciate life a lot more after everything. Every time I wake up, just stepping out of the house and being able to see. A lot of things that wouldn’t cross my mind before now do. During my illness, I couldn’t talk, write, walk, or whisper and now I’m so grateful to have all that back. Every time I wake up, the first thing I say is ‘I love you Jesus, Thank You’,” he said.

Arizola is still following up with the doctor.

Otero now checks all medication prescribed to make sure it does not contain anything that will make him ill again.

Otero kept note of everything that happened throughout their troubling journey in a diary. In the diary, she had important dates, locations of hospitals, and names of family and friends that prayed for Arizola. Arizola says it doesn’t hurt looking back.

“If I would have to go through it again to save people, to get them to have faith and get them closer to God, I would,” Arizola said.