Alex Paul
With his bright red hair, freckles and broad grin that’s missing a few teeth, seven-year-old Taylor McKay looks like a child without a care in the world.
In fact, if television producers were casting the role of Dennis the Menace, they might do well to pay him a visit.
Friday afternoon, as a long stretch limousine pulled into the McMay family’s driveway on Pleasant Valley Road, it’s license plate told Taylor’s story in just a few letters: “Lucky U”.
Although his life changed dramatically one fateful day last summer, the second grader is indeed lucky to be alive, a true miracle in a day and age when that term is often used in a trivial way.
For the last 12 weeks, the son of Craig and Deanna McKay, born bursting with energy, was in a battle for his life. A July 18 lawnmower accident had left him on death’s door, in the hands of doctors and nurses and God.
It was the phone call every parent dreads, but something Deanna McKay handles every day as a 9-1-1 dispatcher for Linn County.
This time though, the call was about her own children.
Young Taylor had been run over by the family’s riding lawn mower and his injuries were extremely serious, possibly fatal.
Taken by Lifeflight to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, young Taylor would embrace the battle of a lifetime, even though he was barely out of the first grade.
Teams of doctors, up to 30 of them total, began rebuilding the youngster. For a week, he lived with his intestines outside his body, waiting for swelling and infections to dissipate.
“He lost half of his stomach and part of his colon,” Mrs. McKay said. “His first surgery took 6 1/2 hours. They did not close him up for a week.”
Taylor underwent three surgeries to control infections.
His left backside was shredded of soft tissue and the sciatic nerve in one leg was severely damaged.
For eight weeks, he remained at Doernbechers, transferring four weeks ago to Emanuel Legacy Hospital for therapy.
His parents spent the first six weeks with their son and then Craig came home. Another son, Colton, 8, spent time at the hospital and then came home and lived with family members.
Mrs. McKay stayed with Taylor until his return home Friday.
“Every day, in the beginning, there was something new,” Mrs. McKay said. “There were infections. Dressing changes were the biggest problem. They were incredibly painful for him.”
Craig McKay works for the Great Albany Public Schools system. He said GAPS and Linn County showed outstanding support for the family. “They were outstanding,” Mr. McKay said. “There was never a problem with time off. Everyone was totally behind us.”
Mrs. McKay’s fellow county employees donated their vacation time so she could remain at her son’s bedside.
“They were all great,” she said. “People would check to see if we needed more time and then give theirs away. It was amazing.”
The McKays said the hospital doctors and nursing staffs were also very family oriented and supportive.
An especially bad time for the family was when there was discussion about possibly amputating Taylor’s damaged leg.
“At first, he thought he was paralyzed,” Mrs. McKay said. “He damaged the sciatic nerve. He lost about eight inches of it. They are planning to have a surgery to use a donor nerve. He may not get all of his feeling back, but it would help to get some. Right now, he could injure that leg and not know it.”
Taylor had bad nightmares at first, Mrs. McKay said, but once she started sleeping in his room, they subsided.
Fortunately for the McKays, they had double insurance coverage.
“For some reason, we chose to take the catastrophic coverage offered at Craig’s job and that has been a huge help. It has a larger lifetime benefit,” Mrs. McKay said.
That will come in handy, since the family is facing bills of more than $500,000.
“We have one bill on the table for $359,000,” Mrs. McKay said.
The McKays were starting a remodeling project at their home at the time of the accident, and it remains unfinished. Their lives frozen in time for the last 12 weeks.
They are quick to praise family, friends, neighbors and co workers.
“Our neighbors have been great,” Mr. McKay said. “They took care of the place while we were gone.”
Taylor received hundreds of get-well cards, some from around the world.
His story was carried on a web site: http://www.caringbridge.org/or/taylor.
Although he uses crutches, by Saturday, Taylor was getting around the house without them like any other seven-year-old, although his mother was quick to admonish him to be careful.
Unless his mother pulled up his sweatshirt to reveal the true picture of his injuries, one wouldn’t know this youngster has survived a lifetime of suffering in a few short weeks.
“There was tremendous support from law enforcement agencies, not just in Linn county, but across the whole nation,” Mrs. McKay said. “We received donations from Tennessee, Arizona, all over the place.”
Despite his tragedy, young Taylor made the best of his stay in Portland, meeting new friends, with their own stories to tell.
There is Kimberly, 8, who suffered a broken neck in a car wreck, Nick, who is battling a brain tumor and 21-month-old Molly, who nearly drowned and is recovering.
Now that he’s home, Taylor said he wants to go shopping for toys and to visit the Oregon coast.
He had only one major complaint throughout the ordeal.
“I didn’t like the hospital food,” he said making a face.
He was very happy to see his big brother and to ride in the limousine donated by Lucky Limousine of Portland
“We can’t thank everyone enough,” Mrs. McKay said of the outpouring of kindnesses shown the family.
Because Taylor will need considerable care for some time, Mrs. Taylor will return to her job in a week on a part-time basis at first.
Taylor will be home schooled for a short time while he finishes healing but is looking forward to starting his second grade school year with teachers Mrs. Rice and Mrs. Keesecker.