PORTLAND — Kristy Smith isn’t sick, but she has her own bed in Portland’s Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel. Make that a pullout sofa bed.
Smith, 38, of Washougal, has essentially lived at Randall since Dec. 19, when her 13-year-old daughter, DejaRay, was checked in to the hospital for an antibiotic-resistant MRSA infection.
If it sounds like hell, that’s exactly how Smith describes it. She has been home only a handful of times over the past 59 days to get groceries for her son, DeAndre, 15, where he’s staying with their pit bull, Piston.
“I have been here nonstop,” Smith said. “I take showers here. I basically live here.”
Smith hasn’t worked her cashier job at Goodwill since this began, and is basically living off of Go Fund Me donations. She sleeps in DejaRay’s room and either eats leftovers from her daughter, nonperishable items she’s bought or hospital cafeteria food. She hasn’t done her taxes yet, bills are stacking up at home and she is wary of what costs they’ll encounter for the hospital stay — though they do have insurance.
Innocuous start
At first, it just seemed like DejaRay had a common cold. Smith took her daughter to urgent care near their home and was told it was probably a virus. So they went back home, and DejaRay rested. The next morning, DejaRay’s brother found her unconscious in her room. He woke his mom by hollering while trying to wake his sister. DeAndre remained calm enough to call 911. When DejaRay heard her brother had saved her, the news made her day.
“Now they’re like best friends,” Smith said. “I would hate for a tragedy like this to happen to anyone, but the fact that they’re going to be so much closer because of it is amazing.”
DejaRay was first taken to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver and was diagnosed with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, which had caused her to go into sepsis and have respiratory failure. She was quickly transferred to Randall. MRSA is a superbug infection caused by staph bacteria that’s hard to treat. The family doesn’t know yet what caused it.
Upon arrival at Randall, Smith said doctors said her daughter was the sickest child in the hospital, with only a 30 percent chance of surviving.
“I didn’t think she would make it,” Smith said.
DejaRay has made it — but not without struggle. She’s developed life-threatening bleeding three times. She has developed double pneumonia and been put on life support for her lungs. She developed a blood clot in her right leg, and part of the blood clot broke off and entered her lungs, which required surgery to be fixed. As part of her treatment, she was in a medically induced coma for about her first three weeks in the hospital.
“It was pretty scary for her, because she didn’t know what was going on,” Smith said. “She had all these questions because she didn’t know where she was or what was happening.”
More recently, DejaRay has started to perk up. She does physical therapy, art therapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy. She recently made Valentine’s Day cards. DejaRay is an “artsy, sassy, go-getter” teenager, as Smith likes to say. But this bout with MRSA has weakened her immensely.
The rest of her time in the hospital will be focused on rebuilding her strength. One time, DejaRay tried to stand up, but it was too painful, and she was too weak.
“It was pretty torturous for her,” Smith said. “I don’t think it’s because of how painful it is. It’s because of the fact that she could do this and now she can’t.”
Earlier this month, DejaRay got to look out a window at the hospital for the first time. She was lifted into a wheelchair, and Smith rolled her to watch the Randall helipad. DejaRay said she just wanted to sit and watch everything. A helicopter landed in front of Smith and DejaRay minutes later.
“It was like heaven for her,” Smith said.
It will probably be three to 12 weeks before DejaRay can return home depending on how she handles therapy. Smith is optimistic about DejaRay’s progress. She took her first step this week.
Smith said DejaRay has been emotional and teary at times. DejaRay misses her dog. She misses her friends. She missed Christmas in December, and her birthday in January. The Christmas decorations are still up at home, and there are a few presents that need to be opened.
“We’re putting that all on hold until she comes home,” Smith said.
