Auburn hospital staff save life of Mary Bridge Children’s receptionist

April 3 is a bittersweet day for Lilly Reddy — it’s the anniversary of her daughter’s death. Since 2006, it’s a day she honors her daughter by donating toys to children in the hospital.

However, after a recent medical emergency, April 3 now holds additional significance for Reddy — it’s the date her colleagues at MultiCare Auburn Medical Center saved her life.

A medical emergency in a ‘fortunate’ location

Reddy is the medical receptionist at Mary Bridge Children’s Pediatrics – Auburn. On Wednesday, April 3, 2024, she was eating lunch in the Auburn Medical Center cafeteria when she felt something was wrong.

“I was trying to eat my onion rings, but I kept missing my mouth,” Reddy recalls. “And then I tried drinking my Gatorade, but the bottle hit my eye twice. I was talking on the phone to my husband, telling him I didn’t feel well, and then I dropped my phone.”

Reddy felt dizzy and didn’t know what was happening, but John Morrison and Brittney White, clinical assistant nurse managers at Auburn Medical Center, did. They were in the cafeteria to have lunch with Myles Parilla, clinical director of Auburn’s emergency department (ED), when they noticed Reddy’s distress and need for help.

“I was trying to eat my onion rings, but I kept missing my mouth. And then I tried drinking my Gatorade, but the bottle hit my eye twice. I was talking on the phone to my husband, telling him I didn’t feel well, and then I dropped my phone.”

White ran to get a wheelchair while Morrison assessed Reddy’s condition and called a code blue, activating the rapid response team.

“As nurses in the ED, your clinical senses are always there,” Parilla says. “This was a good demonstration of using HRO (high reliability organization) behaviors in real time — recognizing that something was off and knowing they needed to take action. We have the duty to respond no matter where we’re at.”

When she got the call about Reddy, Kelly DeHart, clinic manager of Auburn pediatric primary care, dropped what she was doing and went to be with Reddy until her husband got to the hospital.

“I hired Lilly last year and needed to make sure she was OK,” DeHart says. “Lilly is family, and I’ll do anything for my family.”

Shortly after the Auburn ED team stabilized Reddy, they transferred her to the MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital ICU for a higher level of care.

“We don’t usually see these things happen in the moment — we usually get the patients after the event,” says White. “It was an unfortunate circumstance for her, but it was a very fortunate place for it to happen.”

Teammates help keep Reddy’s daughter’s memory alive

Reddy’s daughter died April 3, 2006, at 21 years old. She loved animals and kids, so Reddy and her husband Parmanand volunteer at children’s hospitals and donate toys to the patients every year.

This helps Reddy remember her daughter while also bringing joy to kids in the hospital, she says.

The Auburn pediatric primary care team knew about Reddy’s plans for the toy donation. They didn’t waste any time coordinating the donation this year as Reddy was recovering in the ICU.

Elizabeth Levenseller helps unload the trunkful of toys for patients at Mary Bridge Children’s.

“Our team decided that one tangible way to support Lilly during her recovery was to take over her toy donation,” says DeHart. “She’s an amazing person who is caring, compassionate, always jumping in to help anyone — she’s the kind of employee that you just can’t find anywhere anymore.”

By Thursday afternoon, word had spread and donations started coming in — not only from those in Mary Bridge Children’s primary care clinics, but also from leaders and employees around MultiCare who’ve never met Reddy.

Along with DeHart and the Auburn clinic team, Elizabeth Levenseller, regional manager for Mary Bridge Children’s primary care, was determined to maximize donations toward Lilly’s cause.

“Our team decided that one tangible way to support Lilly during her recovery was to take over her toy donation.”

They turned to One Team Mary Bridge — a culture and phrase commonly used across Mary Bridge Children’s to describe the heart of working there.

“One Team Mary Bridge is not only the amazing support that this entire team provides to one another during times of success, but also in times of need, such as now for our valued team member Lilly,” Levenseller says.

In less than 24 hours, DeHart received more than $800 for toys to donate in Reddy’s name.

“It’s amazing,” she says. “I’m overwhelmed by the response from my team, my colleagues and even from strangers who’ve heard about this.”

DeHart shopped over the weekend and brought the first trunkful of toys to Mary Bridge Children’s on Tuesday, April 9. Between the first shopping trip and drop-off, an additional $500 was raised.

DeHart continues to accept donations and will make additional shopping trips and deliveries to Mary Bridge Children’s through the end of April.

“All I want is for Lilly to take care of herself and make a full recovery,” says DeHart. “I can’t thank my colleagues at Auburn enough for being so observant, for acting quickly and for saving Lilly’s life — I just want to give them all a giant hug.”

Elizabeth Levenseller (left) and Kelly DeHart (right) deliver the first batch of donated toys to Mary Bridge Children’s in honor of Lilly Reddy’s late daughter.

Another way you can support Reddy during this time and be part of the work from DeHart, Levenseller and the Auburn Mary Bridge Children’s pediatric primary care team: Shop from the Mary Bridge Children’s Child Life Wish List on Amazon.

Please add “Lilly Reddy” in the notes or comment section with your gift. All donations will be shipped directly to the Child Life team, which coordinates and distributes toys to Mary Bridge Children’s patients.