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Kristen's struggles over
by LAREIGN WARD, Press Argus-Courier Staff
Friday, October 30, 2009 2:52 PM CDT
At Cedarville Middle School's Oct. 22 homecoming pep rally, Robbin Heidelberg knew Kristen Armer was struggling.
Heidelberg, employed by the Cedarville School District as a personal aide to Kristen, said the 12-year-old felt fine until the previous weekend, when she came down with a sore throat. By that Monday, she was too sick to go to school.
Ever since a virus she contracted as an infant left her paralyzed, Kristen had been highly susceptible to pneumonia, making ailments such as a cold far more serious than usual. But Kristen had been selected to be on Cedarville Middle School's homecoming court and wasn't about to miss it, even though Kristen's mother, Crawford County Clerk Teresa Armer, wanted her to see a doctor.
"(Kristen) said, ?No, I have to go do this,'" Heidelberg recalled. "She was so excited to have her blue Cinderella dress that she picked out ... She loved to dress up."
Heidelberg doesn't think Kristen knew that the Cedarville teachers had gotten together and decided to award her the title of Pirate Pride Princess.
"We wanted to do something special for her because she was always, no matter what the situation, she never complained," Heidelberg said. "She would come to school with a smile on her face no matter how bad she was feeling. She always had a concern for others over herself."
At the pep rally, Kristen was presented with a sash and crown. On Wednesday, Kristen was buried in her blue homecoming dress and Pirate Pride Princess 2009 sash. She died Oct. 24 at Children's Hospital in Little Rock, succumbing to a combination of the H1N1 virus and pneumonia.
"I think she knew that was the last time she was going to see her friends," Heidelberg said the day after Kristen's funeral. "I think she knew (and) she wanted to do that."
Kristen's pastor, the Rev. Bobby L. Johnson of First Assembly of God Church in Van Buren, remembered Kristen for her smile.
"There is now a smile in heaven," Johnson told mourners at her funeral. "Her smile was so distinct that all of heaven recognized it immediately."
Heidelberg served as Kristen's aide since the girl was in fourth grade, doing things like taking notes for her in class and assisting her at lunchtime. Heidelberg said she grew to love Kristen "like my own daughter."
The aide said Kristen was always cracking jokes and making Heidelberg and the students at Cedarville laugh. While she ended up cherishing the chance to be on the homecoming court, Kristen's initial reaction was less than favorable. In an e-mail, Heidelberg recounted Kristen giving her a "strange look" when she found out she was selected as a Cedarville homecoming maid.
"She wasn't as excited as I thought that she would be," Heidelberg wrote. "The following day I talked to her mother and she said that she took Kristen up to her Nana and Papa's house after she left school and told Kristen to tell her Nana and Papa why she was going to get to wear her pretty blue dress. She told her Nana and Papa that since she was a ?Homecoming Maid' she guessed that she was going to have to clean. She really thought that being a homecoming maid involved cleaning up and she didn't want any part of that."
Teresa Armer took Kristen to a Fort Smith hospital immediately after the pep rally. Doctors there wanted her to be airlifted to Little Rock, but bad weather had grounded all the medical helicopters. Kristen was instead taken to Children's Hospital via ambulance.
Heidelberg knew Kristen was ill, but thought she would get better like she had so many other times.
"I thought she would come out of it," she said. "She was a fighter."
Heidelberg called Kristen's classmate and sweetheart, Justin Martin, on Saturday asking for news of her condition. Justin said he didn't know anything. Heidelberg, who lives in Natural Dam, went shopping in Van Buren later that day. When she got home, her husband told her of Kristen's death.
Middle school principal Brad Ray said students and teachers were encouraged to attend her funeral.
"We made arrangements so that any staff member that wanted to go could go," Ray said.
Counseling also been provided to students who want it, Ray said.
"We're taking all the steps we can to help our students cope," the principal said. "Obviously it's a loss that our students are going to feel. She's going to be missed at our school. Her smile and presence will be missed, but will also be remembered."
Heidelberg was having trouble adjusting Thursday to the absence of the girl she nicknamed "Loubell."
"I miss her today," she said. "I'm going to miss hearing her come down the hall looking for me
Kristen's struggles over
by LAREIGN WARD, Press Argus-Courier Staff
Friday, October 30, 2009 2:52 PM CDT
At Cedarville Middle School's Oct. 22 homecoming pep rally, Robbin Heidelberg knew Kristen Armer was struggling.
Heidelberg, employed by the Cedarville School District as a personal aide to Kristen, said the 12-year-old felt fine until the previous weekend, when she came down with a sore throat. By that Monday, she was too sick to go to school.
Ever since a virus she contracted as an infant left her paralyzed, Kristen had been highly susceptible to pneumonia, making ailments such as a cold far more serious than usual. But Kristen had been selected to be on Cedarville Middle School's homecoming court and wasn't about to miss it, even though Kristen's mother, Crawford County Clerk Teresa Armer, wanted her to see a doctor.
"(Kristen) said, ?No, I have to go do this,'" Heidelberg recalled. "She was so excited to have her blue Cinderella dress that she picked out ... She loved to dress up."
Heidelberg doesn't think Kristen knew that the Cedarville teachers had gotten together and decided to award her the title of Pirate Pride Princess.
"We wanted to do something special for her because she was always, no matter what the situation, she never complained," Heidelberg said. "She would come to school with a smile on her face no matter how bad she was feeling. She always had a concern for others over herself."
At the pep rally, Kristen was presented with a sash and crown. On Wednesday, Kristen was buried in her blue homecoming dress and Pirate Pride Princess 2009 sash. She died Oct. 24 at Children's Hospital in Little Rock, succumbing to a combination of the H1N1 virus and pneumonia.
"I think she knew that was the last time she was going to see her friends," Heidelberg said the day after Kristen's funeral. "I think she knew (and) she wanted to do that."
Kristen's pastor, the Rev. Bobby L. Johnson of First Assembly of God Church in Van Buren, remembered Kristen for her smile.
"There is now a smile in heaven," Johnson told mourners at her funeral. "Her smile was so distinct that all of heaven recognized it immediately."
Heidelberg served as Kristen's aide since the girl was in fourth grade, doing things like taking notes for her in class and assisting her at lunchtime. Heidelberg said she grew to love Kristen "like my own daughter."
The aide said Kristen was always cracking jokes and making Heidelberg and the students at Cedarville laugh. While she ended up cherishing the chance to be on the homecoming court, Kristen's initial reaction was less than favorable. In an e-mail, Heidelberg recounted Kristen giving her a "strange look" when she found out she was selected as a Cedarville homecoming maid.
"She wasn't as excited as I thought that she would be," Heidelberg wrote. "The following day I talked to her mother and she said that she took Kristen up to her Nana and Papa's house after she left school and told Kristen to tell her Nana and Papa why she was going to get to wear her pretty blue dress. She told her Nana and Papa that since she was a ?Homecoming Maid' she guessed that she was going to have to clean. She really thought that being a homecoming maid involved cleaning up and she didn't want any part of that."
Teresa Armer took Kristen to a Fort Smith hospital immediately after the pep rally. Doctors there wanted her to be airlifted to Little Rock, but bad weather had grounded all the medical helicopters. Kristen was instead taken to Children's Hospital via ambulance.
Heidelberg knew Kristen was ill, but thought she would get better like she had so many other times.
"I thought she would come out of it," she said. "She was a fighter."
Heidelberg called Kristen's classmate and sweetheart, Justin Martin, on Saturday asking for news of her condition. Justin said he didn't know anything. Heidelberg, who lives in Natural Dam, went shopping in Van Buren later that day. When she got home, her husband told her of Kristen's death.
Middle school principal Brad Ray said students and teachers were encouraged to attend her funeral.
"We made arrangements so that any staff member that wanted to go could go," Ray said.
Counseling also been provided to students who want it, Ray said.
"We're taking all the steps we can to help our students cope," the principal said. "Obviously it's a loss that our students are going to feel. She's going to be missed at our school. Her smile and presence will be missed, but will also be remembered."
Heidelberg was having trouble adjusting Thursday to the absence of the girl she nicknamed "Loubell."
"I miss her today," she said. "I'm going to miss hearing her come down the hall looking for me
