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SARATOGA SPRINGS — In a great time of need, community members and strangers lent a helping hand to a Utah family.
As Kevin Tenney was administering chest compressions to his 4-year-old daughter, Brighton, on the way to the hospital Thursday, a woman came with haste to offer assistance.
The little girl, who had recently spent some time in the hospital, was sick with RSV, croup and a bronchial infection. Early Thursday morning, she was struggling and needed to go to the hospital again.
As Tenney and his wife, Bethany, drove to the hospital, Brighton was getting worse, spurring a phone call to 911.
When they got to about 2100 North in Lehi, Kevin Tenney pulled over. His daughter had a seizure in her mother's arms and then stopped breathing.
The 911 personnel with whom they were talking on the phone instructed them to get her out of the car, lay her outside and give her chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth, which Kevin Tenney began to do. After about one or two chest compressions, the woman came to them.
"...All of a sudden, a woman comes and starts basically running towards us and says, 'I'm an off-duty nurse, can I give her chest compressions?' and I said, 'Absolutely,' because I didn't know what I was doing," Tenney said. "And she just jumped right in, and started … chest compressions."
As she was trying to revive young Brighton, a police officer also pulled up and administered chest compressions as the kind stranger did mouth-to-mouth.
The woman and the police officer helped for a long time before the little girl was transported by ambulance to a hospital, where her heart was started back up. She was then airlifted to Primary Children's Hospital, where she spent the next three days.
Sunday, Brighton was given medication to help with her high blood pressure and rapidly beating heart, but her heartbeat and blood pressure dropped dramatically. Though she was revived again, the process soon repeated.
"And then finally they just said to us, 'Listen, I know this is your daughter and you guys want to do whatever you can to keep her alive, but she is struggling and we can keep on bringing her back, but I don't know if that's what you guys want,'" Tenney said. "And that's not what we wanted, we didn't want to keep on reviving her for us when it wasn't fair to her."
Before Brighton passed away, her parents said their goodbyes and the police officer who helped them give chest compressions showed up when she passed with a gift basket.
The family has discovered that the off-duty nurse who helped them is a family member's co-worker's wife. Tenney said he'd love to see her in person and give her a hug.
The community has also responded to help the Tenney family. From decorating the trees in their neighborhood with bows to donating teddy bears to Brighton in the hospital, Tenney said help has been coming from everywhere.
"I feel like I've been blessed where I have a good job and everything like that and it's hard to see someone that you know is struggling financially want to help you … they don't have it, but they just want to do something for you, you know?" Tenney said.
Though Brighton tested positive for croup, RSV and a bronchial infection, the way she died is still a mystery to a Primary Children's Hospital doctor. Tenney said they agreed to having an autopsy done to see what exactly contributed to her death.
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, "RSV is the most common germ that causes lung and airway infections in infants and young children."
A GoFundMe account* is open for those who'd like to donate to the Tenney family.
Tenney said everyone's comments, text messages and everything people have done have helped their family realize their little girl had such an effect on so many people.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
