South Portland rallies around 10-year-old girl after a near-fatal illness
Kathryn "Katie J" Dobson with her father J.D., left, and mother Christine. (Photo courtesy of Jana Grant)
Ten-year-old Kathryn Dobson played a flag football game on Saturday Oct. 10. She went to a trick-or-treating event on Sunday. On Monday night, she went into cardiac arrest.
Her illness had begun as a fever and stomachache,resembling a typical virus. But after she started throwing up blood, her family rushed her to the hospital.
It took medical staff 30 minutes to perform chest compressions to bring her heartbeat back. She remained hooked up to a ventilator for days.
Katie J, as her family calls her, had developed sepsis, and her body began shutting down. She tested positive for the flu, likely the cause of her escalating symptoms, according to Jana Grant, a close family friend.
Katie J remains in the hospital. Her parents haven’t left her side.
Testing has shown no lasting damage to her heart and brain. On Wednesday, she was taken off the ventilator, according to her father, J.D. Dobson.
Advertisement
The South Portland community has shown up for the Dobsons, who have long-standing ties in the city. Christine, Katie J’s mother, has taught in the district for more than 25 years (now at Waldo T. Skillin Elementary School), and J.D., her father, coached Little League and youth football.
“It shows what South Portland is all about,” J.D. Dobson said. “When you’re in a crisis like this, having the power of everybody behind you, it just gives you that strength to move forward.”
Grant started a gofundme after receiving dozens of messages from friends and neighbors wanting to help. Within 24 hours, it raised more than $30,000.
Now, it’s raised nearly $50,000. The donations will help the family cover medical bills, meals and other expenses, easing the financial strain caused by Katie J’s unexpected hospitalization.
Well-wishers are also reminding Katie J that she’s not alone.
South Portland Fire Cheerleading, the organization Katie J has cheered with for four years, collected videos of Maine cheerleaders and friends sharing their support for her. The leadership team put together a video compilation of dozens of people cheering her on.
Advertisement
The Facebook post calling for submissions for the video went up Monday at midnight. By the next morning, nearly a dozen high school, college and local competitive cheer programs sent submissions.
“She’s one of those kids that gets along with everybody on the team,” said Nicole Fitzgerald, one of her cheer coaches. “She’s confident, spunky, sassy and also really, really sweet.”
Grant said the little girl is a fearless little fighter always eager to get in the middle of a game of tag or football, and a sister-figure to Grant’s two boys. The families spend summer days together at the lake, where Katie J swims like a fish, Grant said. And she’s not afraid to jump.
At South Portland High School’s homecoming game on Friday, youth cheerleaders from Katie J’s team will join the high school cheerleaders on the sideline, all donning #Cheers4KatieJ bows. Katie J’s flag football team will wear special ribbons, and the football players will wear stickers on their helmets in her honor.
“Everyone’s going to be really rooting for her,” Fitzgerald said.
Copy the Story Link
Dana Richie is a community reporter covering South Portland and Cape Elizabeth. Originally from Atlanta, she fell in love with the landscape and quirks of coastal New England while completing her undergraduate. More by Dana Richie
