Kimberly Smith is one busy mama bear. The single mother from Sedro Woolley, Washington, spends her days managing three wild little boys: 12-year-old Bryson, 9-year-old Camdyn and baby Dylan who was born in February.
Kimberly Smith
She woke up on March 2 experiencing chest pains, heavy limbs and shortness of breath. Kimberly knew something was off, but chalked it up to her recent bout of pneumonia and went about her day. She powered through the symptoms as she cared for her 4-week-old son, and planned to sleep everything off with a nap later in the afternoon.
Before she was able to lay down for a snooze, 9-year-old Camdyn came home from school. He was immediately alarmed when he noticed his mom having trouble breathing, and he remembered something he’d learned in health class at school: the warning signs of someone who needs medical assistance.
“My health teacher said that when someone grabs their chest like that that I’m supposed to call 911,” he said.
Camdyn urged his mother to go to the hospital, to which she reassured him that she was fine, and everything was going to be okay. But Camdyn was not going to take ‘no’ for an answer. The lesson he’d learned in health class was unraveling before his eyes—he knew his mom needed medical help.
“I kept saying that we needed to go [to the hospital],” he explains. “So, I just went and got my shoes and coat on, and told her we needed to go.”
His tenacity paid off. In fact, it’s the reason his mother is alive today.
Kimberly explains, “I thought, You know what? I should probably listen to him, because he’s not normally so persistent.”
She called her doctor, who piggy-backed Camdyn’s suggestion that she get checked out.
Together they headed to a walk-in-clinic, where an abnormal EKG resulted in Kimberly being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. She was diagnosed with pulmonary embolisms in both lungs.
The prognosis happens when a protein S deficiency leads to an increased risk of blood clots. Combined with Kimberly’s recent c-section, she was at an even greater risk for developing blockages.
After a short time away at the hospital, where doctors monitored her conditions, Kimberly was able to return home for the rest of her recovery.