Good Shepherd Health Care System | 

5

 

That is exactly what happened to 
Halee Eaton on Thursday, November 
9, 2017, at approximately 7:30 am. 
Halee recalls getting ready for work, 
getting in the car and putting the 
car in drive – when her mom knocks 
on the window and says, “Halee, 
wipe that dew off your windows 
before you drive off. There’s a lot 
of fog out this morning, I love you, 
be safe.” Halee put the car in park, 
wiped down the window, turned 
up the defroster and headed off to 
work. Her mom says she remembers 
watching Halee from her rearview 
mirror turn onto Diagonal safely 
with a sigh of relief, since that road 
is always a concern with its speedy 
traffic and trucks.

Halee made her way to the corner 
of Edwards and Feedville Road in 
Hermiston. Although her memory 
fails her due to the accident, she 
can only assume that she did on 
that morning what she did each 
and every day. She looked left, 
looked right and pulled out into the 
intersection. Halee was T-boned on 
the driver’s side by an oncoming 
pickup going 55-60 mph and 
punted 300 feet into a field.

Once EMS crews arrived, Halee 
was then rushed to the Emergency 
Department at Good Shepherd 
Health Care System by ambulance 
with several life-threatening injuries 
that left her body mangled and 
in pieces. Halee’s mother, Ronda, 
recalls receiving a Facebook 
message from friend and ER Nurse 
Susan Stephens at approximately 
8:20 am. “Ronda, Halee’s been 
in an accident and you need to 
get here as soon as you safely 
can”. Ronda’s reply, “How is she?” 
Susan finished, “I don’t know.”… A 
whirlwind of thoughts and emotions 
happened between that call and 
Ronda’s arrival to the Emergency 
Department at Good Shepherd 
Health Care System.

When Ronda arrived, she was in a 
frenzied state of panic, which most 
people would be in at this point.

When Ronda sees Halee  

for the first time, she loses 
it and is confronted with a 

reality she never thought 

she would have to face, am 

I going to lose my daughter 

today? But at that same 

instant, she was comforted  

by Susan. When Halee is 

rolled in on the gurney, she is 

awake but in shock – shaking, 

crying and confused  

with blood and glass 

everywhere.

By this time the trauma crew is 
here and in place, the attending 
ER physician, Dr. Stewart Swena, 
consults with the trauma surgeon 
Dr. Christopher Keeler. The room 
is abuzz with people coming and 
going, checking, re-checking, 
touching, and taking vitals on Halee.

With every bit of strength that her 
mother could muster, she looked 
at her daughter and told her, “NO, 
you’re not dying. But I need you to 
be very strong and fight as hard as 
you possibly can.” After Dr. Keeler 
performs an assessment of Halee’s 
injuries and is informed that Kadlec 
Regional Medical Center in Tri-
Cities, WA had no trauma beds, 

At one point after a few 

questions as to what 

happened, Halee turned to 

her mother with a tear in 

her eye and asked her  

“Am I dying???”

Dr. Keeler consults with Ronda and 
explains everything that he is going 
to do, puts his arms around her and 
lets her know that everything is 
going to be alright.

After surgery, weather conditions 
were uncooperative and Lifelight 
had to use their fixed wing to 
transport Halee. Her mother 
remembers staring at her seemingly 
lifeless daughter the entire flight. 
In shock, disbelief and praying 
constantly. 

Christopher Keeler, DO,  

breaks from surgery to  

greet a grateful Halee.

Halee visits Dr. Swena, the  

ER physician who cared for  

her on that fateful day.

available, he determines she needs 
emergency life-saving surgery 
immediately before she can be life 
flighted safely to Legacy Emmanuel 
in Portland.