Daughter Reconnects with Medical Team Who Helped Grant Her Dying Mother's Final Wish
In 1989, Linda Kenyon and her husband, Chris, flew all the way from Los Angeles, CA, to Columbus in hopes for a successful laser treatment for Linda’s cancer. They ended up at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center because of the great reputation Grant had with photo dynamic therapy (PTD) which was relatively new at the time.
The laser treatment worked, but unfortunately, it was too late. The cancer had spread from her tongue to her throat and lungs. That’s when she met Prudence Hudson, a former counselor at Grant.
Prudence grew close with Linda and Chris as well as their two-year-old daughter, Kylie. She learned that Linda’s final wish was to return home to California to live out her final days. That’s when the care team sprang into action, trying to round up a private plane (Linda was too sick to fly on a commercial plane). After reading a story in the Columbus Dispatch about the team’s efforts, shopping center developer Herb Glimcher called and donated his company’s private plane for the journey home.
A team from Grant and LifeFlight worked together to turn the plane into a medical aircraft and Linda and her family were able to travel back home, where she soon passed away.
29 years later, Linda’s daughter, Kylie, was able to connect with a member of her mother’s care team. She asked if she could come to Ohio to meet the people who took care of her mother and learn more about her trip home.
One recent Saturday, the group reunited at Grant to each tell Kylie about their role in caring for her mother and helping her get back home. Many of their stories are in the video player above.
“I didn’t realize how hard these people really worked to try and get my mom home,” says Kylie. “I think about everything these people have done and I feel so appreciative that I was able to meet them.
Kylie said it was an emotional experience. “It was unbelievable. When I left and got on the road I finally broke down in tears after trying to hold it in (all) weekend. My parents would have been happy that I made this trip.”
10TV covered the story of the Kenyon family’s story in 1989. You can watch the story below. In regards to the news story, Kylie said “I finally got to see the video and now that’s the only footage I have of my mother. It was really emotional.”
“The Grant team and everyone involved – they are important to me – what they did, they are really amazing men and women, they are kind of like my heroes,” says Kylie. If they hadn’t done what they did my mom would have not made it back to California, she would have died at Grant. They helped my mother live out her last days with me and my dad in LA which means a lot to me.”
Video Courtesy: WBNS-10TV
