Home > Gwinnett > Rick Badie / My Opinion > Archives > 2007 > June > 17
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Smiths finding joy in each small step
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
RICK BADIE / AJC
Chris Smith has made tremendous strides since suffering a massive heart attack in March 2005, according to his wife, Kathy (right). Daughter Caitlin, 15, says she's also in a better place, mentally.
Last year, when I first saw Chris Smith, he was sensitive to sound and touch only.
Now he can smile, hold his head up and lift his arms and legs.
He’s still in a persistent vegetative state, but the occasional signs of mobility are giant steps.
Kathy Smith, his wife, sure thinks so.
“He’s come a long way since the Peachtree Road Race last year,” she wrote in an e-mail. “I’d love for you to see the progress Chris has made, or at least the progress the nurses and I believe he’s made.”
So I did.
On Friday, I visited the Lawrenceville family to see what nearly a year’s passing had done for a man who suffered a major heart attack on March 25, 2005.
On that day, the Secret Service agent was in the office elevator at work, headed to the 30th floor to shower after a 3-mile run.
Witnesses told Kathy Smith that he moved to the rear of the elevator, then squatted. He didn’t move when the elevator reached his floor. A colleague tapped him on the shoulder. He fell over.
Even though his chances for survival were slim, Smith chose to bring her man home. Their bedroom and other portions of the house had to be retrofitted. Special equipment, like a table that helps stand and stretch, had to be installed.
Before benefits kicked in, Smith had to foot the bill for some necessities — nursing assistants, for one. Sometimes they showed as scheduled. Other times, they didn’t.
“In the beginning, it was horrible,” Smith told me, noting that she now has dependable 24-hour nursing care. “But Chris’ condition is so much better now that he’s easy to take care of. His trach is out, and the hole has been surgically closed. He’s [back] up to 173 pounds. He looks awesome.”
I first met the family in July 2006, days before the Peachtree. Caitlin had chosen to honor her father by running in the race, as she’d done the previous year.
These days, she’s focused on ice hockey. Last school year, she played goalie for a team culled together from schools in Middle Georgia that had been unable to field enough kids. She’s currently on the house team of the Atlanta Ice Forum in Duluth. Her father even got the chance to see her play a game since his heart attack.
When I visited Friday, Caitlin told me she was in a better place, mentally, than a year ago.
“I’ve gotten used to [the situation],” she said. “Hockey, my family and friends have helped me deal with it.
“He’s still Dad.”
Last month, the family celebrated his 44th birthday with ice cream and cake. And this Father’s Day, the family plans to attend services at St. Lawrence Catholic Church.
“God is good every day,” Smith said. “Chris is so much more alert. He smiles. He doesn’t laugh, but he feels the tickle. All those things tell me that God is good every day.”
Smith asks that readers pray for Chris. She also told me to not let a day go by that I don’t kiss my wife and kids.
“When you love somebody,” she said, “you love them until they die.”
— Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail rbadie@ajc.com.
Permalink | Comments (10) | Post your comment | Categories: Rick Badie
