March 8, 2006

Westmont Principal returns to
school after massive heart attack

By Julie Davis Berry
Executive Editor

Owen Hege is glad to be back at the helm of Westmont High School after suffering a massive heart attack in January.

Westmont High School Principal Owen Hege says he is grateful for the outpouring of well wishes from faculty, students and parents after his recent heart attack.

Hege says he was at home over the Martin Luther King weekend getting ready to go out shopping when he felt the typical symptoms of a heart attack that he had read about: chest pressure, tingling in his arms and pain in his jaw. “I thought I could drive myself to the hospital but decided that I better call 911 instead, and it was the best decision I could have made.”

The ambulance rushed him to Kaiser Santa Teresa where Hege says he received excellent treatment. During an angioplasty a stent was placed in his heart to relieve what his cardiologist described as a 100 percent blockage.

“I didn’t have any warning signs. I’d lost a little weight, and I’d never felt better so I was totally surprised by the heart attack,” said the 62-year-old Hege.

After only a three-day stay in the hospital Hege was sent home and was off work for a total of four weeks. He returned part-time after that and is currently back to work full time. It was important for him to return, even part-time, as he feels “no one is indispensable” and it is important to put a face to the name of their principal.

“The staff was great filling in for me, but the kids will forget you after a couple of months. I was anxious to get back to my daily lunch line interaction with the students.”

One of the stresses facing Hege when he returned to his job was the arrest of part-time geometry teacher Luke Lajoie on attempted child molestation charges (see page 4). “I heard about it while I was on the school break. One of the teachers came to school to do something and there was a news truck here from Channel 7.”

Hege says Lajoie was a first year teacher and he never noticed anything out of the ordinary with him. The first day back from break Hege went to all of Lajoie’s classes to discuss what had happened.

“I told them that I’ve been doing this for 38 years, and I’ve never had a teacher arrested for anything and I’ve dealt with almost 2,800 teachers over the years. I wanted them to know that teachers care very deeply about their students and that they should take this very seriously. The kids responded very well, and we are now looking for a permanent teacher to replace Lajoie.”

He says he regrets that it is a “different world now. We used to give kids rides home but now I would never do that.”

Despite the obvious stress of this incident and just the general stress of running a school with nearly 2,000 students the divorced father of three grown children says he still loves his job. “All my retired friends tell me how great it is to be retired but I signed up for a four-year commitment until I’m 65 and I intend to fulfill my commitment,” said Hege. “My doctor says I can keep working and as long as I can continue being a hands-on principal I will be happy.”

In the meantime Hege says he will continue to take advantage of Kaiser’s Heart education classes. “They do a great job teaching about the biology of the heart, medication, diet and exercise and how to handle stress.”