A 73-year-old hospice patient died after her daughter says she suffered a catastrophic bowel injury while being evacuated from a wildfire on a wheeled hospital bed over rough pavement.
Pat Speedy died on August 9, days after enduring severe pain from a perforated colon, her daughter, Kimberly, told The Spokane Spokesman-Review.
‘The way she went, that’s hard to wrap my heart around,’ Kimberly said. ‘I wanted more for her. Better for her.’
Spokane Health and Rehabilitation, where Speedy was receiving hospice care, began moving patients out in early August as the Old Trails wildfire pushed closer to the facility.
Speedy had been confined to bed after suffering a stroke and was among the final residents evacuated. During the move, she had to be rolled across the uneven surface of a parking lot, a jolting trip Kimberly believes caused the injury that ultimately killed her mother.
When Kimberly arrived to check on her mother, more than 100 residents and caregivers were gathered outside waiting for assistance as smoke from the wildfire drifted through the area.
A chilling photograph shows Speedy lying on a trolley bed as she awaited evacuation. Kimberly described her mother as upbeat and resilient, a woman who continued to take joy in life despite being partially paralyzed by her stroke.
Ash fell onto the beds and into residents’ laps while they waited for about an hour to be rescued, Kimberly recalled to the newspaper.
‘Ash was just coming down. The sky was dark,’ she said. ‘Imagine being not in control of your body and having to watch everything around you burn.’
Pat Speedy, 73, died on August 9 after lying in agony for days after she suffered a colonic bowel perforation
Speedy’s daughter Kim says she believed the bumpy surface of a parking lot her mom was wheeled across caused the fatal injury
An ambulance took Speedy to Shadle Park High School and eventually to Holy Family Hospital, where an X-ray revealed she had a ruptured bowel.
‘She could tell immediately. She said: “Something’s really wrong,”‘ Kimberly recalled.
For three days, Speedy laid in agony without any relief. By the fourth day, the elderly woman was going in and out of consciousness and was in severe pain, her daughter said.
Speedy was eventually transferred to an assisted-care facility, where she would die on August 9 with her daughter by her side.
‘The last thing she said was: “It’s okay, honey, I don’t need any jellybeans,”‘ Kimberly recalled, which she told The Spokesman-Review was very much like her mother.
‘She just had a great infectious personality, a great sense of humor,’ the grieving daughter said. ‘She loved Gonzaga basketball. She’s from California, so very much a Cali girl; she loves the beach and the sun and palm trees.’
Prior to the evacuation, Speedy had been diagnosed with Ogilvie syndrome, which is when the colon becomes paralyzed and doesn’t move waste along, causing the large intestine to expand.
Speedy entered hospice care two months after the diagnosis, Kimberly said, but her mother didn’t live in pain and was able to eat regularly.
Kim (pictured) blames Aaron Farinacci, who is suspected to have started the Old Trails Fire
Speedy died in an assisted-care facility after she was discharged from the hospital. She is pictured prior to the stroke that caused her paralysis
Farinacci has not faced charges for Speedy’s death, but the sheriff’s department has not ruled it out yet
Around 65,000 people had to be evacuated from the area due to the fire
It has destroyed more than 700 structures
She also had a vibrant social life, and often spoke with the people in her unit. Her daughter described her as ‘actively engaged in life.’
Kimberly also blames Aaron Farinacci, the arsonist suspected to be behind the fires, saying her mother would have been fine if she wasn’t forced to evacuate.
She also wants him to face charges for Speedy’s death.
‘I want him held accountable. This guy killed my mom,’ Kimberly told The Spokesman-Review.
Kimberly also told Our News Outlet: ‘Like the rest of Spokane, I am looking for justice for all the damage that was done, including the death of my mother.’
So far, Farinacci has not been charged with Speedy’s death, which is the only fatality associated with the fires.
Sheriff John Nowels said there’s ‘potential’ that the suspected arsonist could get charges for it.
Farinacci previously pled guilty to manslaughter in 2012 after he killed his father in a fight in 2010. He was initially charged with first-degree murder.
The Old Trails Fire destroyed more than 700 structures and forced around 65,000 to evacuate.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Kim and Farinacci’s attorney Colin Charbonneau for comment.
