Featured Image Credit: KATU2/ABC
Topics: Mental Health, Crime, Health, US News
Emily Brown
A woman whose world changed forever in a 2022 shooting chose to end her life after living for two years with life support.
It was February 19, 2022 when gunman Benjamin Smith opened fire at Normandale Park in Portland, Oregon.
The five people injured in the shooting were part of a crowd which had gathered at the park to protest the death of Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man who was shot by a police officer.
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One of the women who was struck, identified only by the name 'Deg', was shot through the neck and suffered an injury to her phrenic nerve, causing her to become paralyzed from the shoulders down.
Having previously spent her time living abroad, backpacking through the Pacific Northwest, and working at a preschool, Deg was suddenly reliant on others for her most basic care.
She remained in hospital for five months and suffered three bouts of pneumonia since the shooting, forcing her to come to terms with the fact that any social interaction could land her with a potentially fatal respiratory infection.
She suffered PTSD, and during the hearing for Smith told the court she had 'lost the future' she saw for herself.
According to The Oregonian, Deg consequently began researching Oregon’s Death with Dignity program, which allows terminally ill people to end their lives through the self-administration of lethal medications.
However, Deg ultimately decided to end her life with a more natural route, by being taken off the ventilator which kept her breathing and blood pressure in check.
In the time since the shooting, she'd never gone for more than an hour without being hooked up to the ventilator.
Knowing that her life was going to be coming to an end, Deg spent her final months surrounded by loved ones.
She enjoyed a 32nd birthday party where she encouraged friends to 'roast' her, as well as a small gathering of her close friends and siblings where they reminisced over old photos.
Having previously lived in fear of contracting an infection, Deg was able to enjoy the moments knowing she didn't have long left.
Her mother told The Oregonian: "For the first time in 2½ years she was able to enjoy her loved ones without a mask. There was no fear."
At her request, a medical professional unhooked Deg's ventilator for the last time on July 1. She rested peacefully for 24 hours before passing away in the home where she had grown up.
"She had lost so much control,” said her mom. “This was something that was her decision. I couldn’t argue with her. But we miss her desperately.”
After Deg's passing, a death certificate was issued which described her cause of death as 'complications from a gunshot wound to the neck', and the manner as 'homicide'.
Her death marked the second person to die as a result of the Normandale Park shooting, after June Knightly lost her life on the day the shots were fired.
Smith pleaded guilty after the shooting to a single count of second-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder, among other charges, and was sentenced to prison.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.