24 Jul A Night at Atlanta Motor Speedway for Taylor
Taylor Sutton, 15, from Tifton, Georgia, won Atlanta RMHC’s family raffle for a behind-the scenes-experience with NASCAR Xfinity Series driver, Ryan Ellis, at the Alsco Uniforms 250.
Ryan sponsored the raffle and surprised Taylor with her name on the passenger side rail of his racecar.
“Her reaction was priceless when she saw her name on his car,” says Becky, Taylor’s mom.
Before the race, Taylor and her family met Ryan and escorted him to the track. They watched the race from Ryan’s pit box and loved watching his pit stops. The race was a fun break from the hospital and one that the Suttons will never forget.
Taylor and her family are staying with us at our Ronald McDonald Houses after being treated for a severe brain injury earlier this year.
On January 30, Taylor’s heart stopped beating when her parents went to wake her up for school. 30 minutes passed before paramedics were able to restore her heartbeat. She was taken to Atrium Health Navicent Beverly Knight Olsen Children’s Hospital in Macon where she was treated for severe brain damage from a lack of oxygen.
Taylor was later transferred to the cardiac intensive care unit at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (Egleston). While her heart was getting better, Taylor remained in a coma. “After a lot of hope and prayer, Taylor finally came off the ventilator and started showing signs of improvement,” Becky says.
On February 28, Taylor was moved to Scottish Rite for inpatient rehabilitative care. Seventy-three days later, she began outpatient rehab.
Taylor’s family stayed at our House near Egleston while she was in the cardiac ICU and has been staying at our House near Scottish Rite since Taylor started outpatient rehab.
The Suttons appreciate having a clean and comfortable place to stay and enjoy talking with other families at our House. Taylor loves our Bingo nights and hanging out on the patio.
“Without Atlanta RMHC, we would feel helpless because Taylor’s treatment wouldn’t be possible,” Becky says.
