General

Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience of Battling COVID on Front Lines Changes Perspective Forever for Smith Family

This is the continuation of a series of Body, Mind & Soul stories that highlights member student-athletes, coaches and administrators of Conference Carolinas.

MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. - As Mount Olive’s Director of Athletics Communications, Ryan Smith is charged with the task of nominating student-athletes for academic, athletic and leadership postseason awards each year.

However, the nomination he prepared last April hit awfully close to home. Literally.

One night, Ryan was watching an Atlanta Braves telecast in his living room and began to listen intently when the team broadcasters mentioned that the Braves and their sponsor Truist were teaming up for a special promotion called “Front Row for the Frontline.”

The club said it would honor essential, frontline workers that have served the community selflessly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those people chosen would receive a special VIP experience at a game at Truist Park that included four front row seats next to the home dugout, special parking and complimentary food and beverages.

Almost immediately, Smith had an idea. He would nominate his wife Keyrstan, who had heroically treated patients at Wayne UNC Healthcare in Goldsboro, North Carolina as a night-shift nurse on the medical/surgical floor that has also floated on the COVID unit during the height of the pandemic this past year.

“Anyone who knows my wife knows she doesn’t want attention,” said husband, Ryan. “But seeing all the heartache she’s gone through, things she couldn’t tell anybody about except me, I felt like she deserves some recognition.”

As Ryan began typing the nomination on his laptop with the Braves game in the background, Keyrstan became curious.

“What are you doing?” she asked. “Oh, nothing honey,” he replied. 

While Ryan felt there was a “one-in-a-million chance” that she might be chosen, he prepared a nomination that apparently persuaded the team to select Keyrstan as one of the promotion winners.

Two months later, Ryan received an email from Kathryn Worsham, the Braves’ Manager of Community Affairs, who informed him that his wife had been picked.

Ryan was amazed when he first learned of the tremendous news. In fact, Keyrstan could see that something was different.  

“Finally I told her and we both cried and did a lot of hugging,” Ryan said. 

“Ryan’s hands were shaking when he handed me his (cell) phone to read the email,” Keyrstan recalled. “I think I might have said a few choice words before just yelling, ‘Go Braves!’” 

The Smiths were allowed to select any remaining home game and they chose Sunday, Aug. 8 when Atlanta hosted the Washington Nationals in a Sunday afternoon contest. But first, Keyrstan had to continue her grueling work schedule of night shift duty at the hospital as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN).

The mother of a two-and-half-year-old son named Jace, she had to lean heavily on Ryan and relatives to juggle her crazy schedule. On most mornings, Keyrstan arrived home between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. after her night shifts. Ryan and her resembled two ships passing in the night, as he would get Jace dressed and fed by 8:45 a.m. and drop him off at daycare.  

“We were lucky to see Keyrstan for even a half hour in the morning,” said Ryan.

Before entering the house, she would change clothes on the front porch and then immediately shower and disinfect herself before allowing Jace or Ryan to touch her. Invariably, Jace would cry, “Mommy’s home!” when she arrived.

“It was hard to tell him to stay away until I cleaned up,” she said. “When he was only one, he would cry and want to hug me.”

But over time, little Jace became accustomed to the daily routine.

“He would say, ‘Mommy’s got to shower!’ Then he’d wait right outside the bathroom and say, ‘Mommy done yet?’”

Grateful for the little things, Keyrstan always looked forward to picking up her son at daycare at 4 p.m. after she slept most of the day. Then the vicious cycle returned as she was out the door by 6:30 for her next shift. Beyond making dinner most nights, Ryan would sometimes prepare a to-go box meal for Keyrstan to take with her.

“She would be so busy some nights, she just didn’t have time to go to the cafeteria. I wanted her to at least have something because she might not eat until 2 a.m.”

With Ryan facing his own demands at work, particularly during the same COVID period, there were times when their schedules invariably collided.

“My schedule can change every hour, especially because of COVID when a coach might move a game at a moment’s notice,” Ryan said. “We’ve canceled games and then found out a student-athlete had a false negative test and suddenly the game is back on.”

With Keyrstan’s schedule requiring changes at least a month in advance, it’s Ryan who needed to be nimble.  

“First thing I think of when there’s a conflict at night is who’s going to watch Jace,” he said. “We lean on our parents or other family when we can, but there are times I had to tell my boss I may not be able to cover this. The last thing I wanted to do was add any stress for Keyrstan who had plenty of stress at work.”

Smith said that Jeff Eisen, the Trojans’ Vice President of Athletics, has fully understood the pressures his family faces and has given Ryan as much latitude as possible in making the schedule work.

“What Keyrstan is dealing with is a life and death matter,” Ryan added. “I really appreciate that Jeff understands. He runs a department where hours aren’t important, results are. We make it work.”

For Keyrstan, combatting COVID under the most harrowing conditions has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. However, this summer she and her family enjoyed a polar-opposite experience that will also last a lifetime.

Smith Plane

Ryan, Keyrstan and Jace were joined by Ryan’s father, James, in attending the Aug. 8 afternoon game at Truist Field in Atlanta. It was Keyrstan who suggested to Ryan to invite his father.

“That was just a given,” she said. “He’s the biggest Braves fan and loves baseball.”

What’s more, Ryan’s dad was a catcher at East Carolina University. Now retired, he was a health and physical education teacher for more than 30 years in Norfolk, Virginia and former Commissioner of the Eastern Officials Association, assigning basketball and baseball game officials for local games.

In fact, James Smith wrote a book about his baseball life entitled, "Sweeping Off The Plate.” Proceeds from the book have been donated to charities involving loss of eyesight and Alzheimer's--two causes dear to his heart, as Ryan lost the sight of one eye in a BB gun accident at age 15 and his grandmother passed away with Alzheimer's.

The Smiths decided to make it a special weekend in Atlanta. They rented an Airbnb for two nights. On game day, every family member was decked out in Atlanta Braves gear as they pulled into the VIP parking lot at the stadium.

“I viewed it as a celebration,” said Keyrstan. “It was a needed break from work and school (she’s studying to become a Registered Nurse at Wilson Community College). It was like a breath of fresh air where we had some normalcy as a family.”

Besides being treated like royalty by the Braves--including complimentary food and beverages--Ryan and Keyrstan will always remember two heart-warming scenes during an afternoon where Atlanta beat the Washington Nationals, 5-4.

Ryan’s father, whose favorite all-time Braves are Hall of Famers John Smoltz and Chipper Jones, had crossed paths with the Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman earlier in their baseball careers when James had served as an umpire for Zimmerman at a local high school and in college when he was at Virginia. 

“I got a real kick watching my dad try to get Zimmerman’s attention,” recalled Ryan. “He kept yelling ‘Hey Zim! Zim!’ like he was a little kid. Except my dad’s 70 years old!”

However, it was young Jace that ruled the day. While his parents were concerned whether a two-year-old had the patience to sit through nine innings of baseball, they decided their young Braves fan needed to be part of the outing even if it also included him also flying for the first time. 

Jace proved to be a real gamer. He didn’t even mention he wanted to go home until the eighth inning.

What happened though earlier in the game was a magical moment that the Smiths will never forget.

Jace, who often watches Braves games with his father on television in their Goldsboro, North Carolina home, shares a ritual with his dad every time an Atlanta player hits a home run. They both yell and point to the TV screen.

So, with the Braves trailing the Nationals, 1-0, in the third inning of their front-row adventure, Atlanta leadoff hitter Ozzie Albies uncorked a two-run homer to give the home club the lead. At that very moment, there was young Jace screaming and pointing at the field as Albies rounded the bases.

“I picked up Jace from his seat and held him in the air,” said Ryan. “Everybody was yelling with big smiles on our faces. It’s a memory I’ll never forget.”

Smith Family Pointing

While it was a needed respite for his wife, Keyrstan soon found herself back for yet another exhausting overnight shift. Ryan still marvels at her dedication and fortitude under dire conditions.

“It still amazes me how much she cares about every patient,” he said. “Even when she’s home, she makes a point to check in about people’s condition. When a person passes away, she takes it so personally. It’s like she lost a family member.”

The couple, who first met as students at Chowan University in 2010 and married seven years later, have found some relief from their family schedules due to Keyrstan becoming a full-time student at Wilson Community College this past January. Now, she is only required to work one night shift at the hospital every two weeks, allowing much more time with her family. In May, she will graduate as a Registered Nurse.

“I really get a lot out of serving others,” explains Keyrstan as to why she entered the nursing field. “Lots of times, you’re with them at the end of their life. I try to practice the Golden Rule. I treat these COVID patients like you would want to treat your own grandparents. When they cry, you hold their hand. That’s something you don’t learn in school but dealing with the people around you.”

Keyrstan admits she couldn’t handle the exhaustion and stress without the help of her husband.

“He is awesome,” she said with a smile. “Ryan is a hands-on dad to begin with. I couldn’t handle four or five 12-hour shifts a week without him helping with childcare, dressing and feeding Jace and just giving me moral support.”

Then add the responsibility of being a first-time mother, and it’s truly remarkable that Keyrstan has weathered the past year and successfully balanced her unenviable challenges.

“I’ve taken a lot of naps,” she laughs about the absurdity of her schedule. “With my school schedule now, I have time to watch Jace play with his trucks and tractors, walk the dog in the neighborhood and occasionally watch a movie on TV with Ryan.”

She also has kept a journal for Jace, so someday he’ll learn about what mommy endured during the era of COVID.

“I’ve made a lot of entries about the experience when I wasn’t completely present. It’s part of history, so I want Jace to know about it when he grows up.”

Her most favorite new thing?

“Putting Jace to sleep. Just to tuck him in, hug him and say goodnight.”

Keyrstan is sure to have more perspective in the years to come as she looks back on a chaotic time in her life.

“I think I’ll always be proud of what we accomplished,” she shares. “It was hard for everybody. It was exhaustive not only physically but mentally. Now my night shifts are limited, but for my coworkers, they haven’t gotten a breather. They’re strong men and women.”

While no one in the Smith family has tested positive for COVID, Keyrstan and those co-workers are forced to live each day with the fear of being exposed to the deadly virus.

However, if she ever doubted how noble her work was, a particular patient shared a poignant moment with her on Christmas Eve.

“I was wearing a face shield and gown, and feeling kind of down because I wasn’t home with Ryan and Jace,” she said. “I remember telling an elderly patient, ‘I’m so sorry you’re here. He grabbed my hand and said, ‘I’m so thankful that I am here!' It changed my whole perspective of things.”

Bob Rose is a longtime sports public relations executive who has worked for the San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, the NFL Cardinals, Cal, Stanford and other organizations. Bob works with Assistant Commissioner for External Relations Brian Hand and the entire Conference Carolinas office to help tell the stories of the tremendous student-athletes, coaches and administrators in Conference Carolinas. 

Smith at Work