Student Critical, Family Struggling

by Matt Hongoltz-Hetling
     
     BUCKFIELD – This year, when school began at Buckfield Junior Senior High School (BJSHS), one student was missing.
     Last year, Kyraa Locke attended classes with her fellow students. She would draw comics with her friends, and was particularly interested in anime, an asian-based style of cartooning that has been growing in popularity in the US over recent years.
     But in June, Kyraa's life took a terrifying turn. She was admitted to the ICU of the Maine Medical Center in June with an infected pancreas. She resides there still.
     “I ask the doctors to tell me what her chances are,” said Kyraa's mother, Tammy. “They won't tell me. They just tell me she's in very serious condition.”
     For three months now, Kyraa has been in critical care. For almost all of that time, up until a couple weeks ago, she was in a medically induced coma. Now she is the subject of frequent surgeries as doctors work around the clock to save her life.
     This is not Kyraa's first brush with death. In 1998, on her sixth birthday, she made headlines after miraculously surviving a collision between speeding locomotive and the car that Kyraa was riding in.
     “I don't understand why she survived getting hit by a train,” said her mother, Tammy Craw. “She made it through that, only to have this happen to her.”
     Tammy is a single mother who has been overwhelmed by the emotional and financial strain of the tragedy.
     “It's tiring. It's taking its toll,” she said. “It's been a long haul.”
     Tammy, who ordinarily lives on Redding Road, is staying with her son at the Ronald MacDonald House, and has not been able to work while staying at Kyraa's side.
     The house provides accommodations to those in need, as well as food- when food is available.
     “If there's no guest chef, my son and I have to go without,” said Tammy. While Tammy owns her home, she has no way to make monthly payments on other things.
     “It's only a matter of time before I lose my car and my cell phone,” said Tammy.
     Tammy's car payments are being supplemented by donations cups in place at Tilden's Market and the Buckfield Mall.
     “If you can help in any way, it will be greatly appreciated by the family and all of us who care about Kyraa,” said Cynthia Norton, Sumner's administrative assistant, who has been active in rallying support for Kyraa.
     Tammy says that she has some immediate, relatively modest needs that would make the days go by more easily.
     “We have dogs that are stuck at our house,” she said. “We're trying to get help to get a fence or a kennel or something that would let them spend some time outside. We haven't been able to mow our lawn all summer.”
     Without a computer or access to an entertainment device, both Tammy and Kyraa have little to do during the endless hours in the ICU that have become their lives.
     “We're trying to get a laptop donated. We haven't been able to do that yet,” said Tammy. “Maybe even a portable dvd player or something like that.”
     The family also has some long-term, large-scale financial problems.
     If Kyraa makes it through, she will be unable to move back into the family home in Sumner, because of the house's condition. There is mold in the walls, a roof that badly needs repair, and porches that are falling in.
     BJSHS Principal George Reuter says that the school is accepting donations to help Locke, and that Kyra's senior classmates are planning to do a separate fund raising effort.
     “Some of the seniors were looking to do something,” said Reuter. “The senior class advisor [Karen Martin] is trying to put something together.”
     Reuter describes Kyraa as “a determined young girl.”
     “She's got a lot of spirit,” he said. “She's had quite an impression on the school. The staff and the students here care a lot about her.”
     Reuter said that Kyra is known around the school for working hard at the things that interest her.
     “We look forward to her return,” said Reuter.
     Before moving into the Ronald McDonald House, Tammy, was staying at Gary's House, which provides accommodations to those who have a loved one receiving treatment for a life-threatening or serious illness in the Portland area at a discounted rate of $15 per night.
     “The opening came up at the Ronald McDonald House, and someone needed the bed at Gary's House,” said Tammy. “I didn't want to make it more difficult for someone else who was going through a tragedy, so I moved.”
     Gary's House was created thanks to Gary, a young man who was concerned about his family's comfort while they did everything they could to provide support during his battle with cancer. The center was established in 1998, seven years after Gary's death in 1991.
     Norton says that donations made at the high school will be used to buy food coupons for Tammy and her son.
     Those who would like to make a donation are encouraged to write a check to Buckfield High School, with the words “Kyraa Locke” in the memo line. Donations made in this manner
     If anyone can provide goods or services, including food donations, that could help the family, please contact Buckfield High School at 336-2151.