We here at Northwest Coastal Housing are grieving the loss of Jeff Sutton, former client and employee of Coastal Phoenix Rising. People have heard me tell the story of when we first opened our doors. We were told to expect a client in a wheelchair. We waited for this arrival, only to discover there were two that arrived just two hours apart in wheelchairs. Jeff was arrival number one. When he drove up, he parked in the back parking lot. I personally ran out to his van, unhooked his wheelchair from the back, helping him into it then wheeling him into the shelter. He was ashen, frail, thin, and in a lot of pain just receiving a surgery for the amputation of part of his foot.
We watched over him with our 24/7 staff, brought him food, and worked alongside the Samaritan Health Services as they brought daily medical care to the respite room he was staying in. Jeff was as tough as nails. He gained weight, regained his color, his strength and his hope for a new life. As we watched, Jeff was reunited with his children, went from wheelchair, to walker, to cane, to walking unassisted. Jeff was tough, always fighting for others. We are grateful to have been a part of providing more life for Jeff. He is remembered fondly by our staff, and he will never be forgotten. Our hearts go out to his children, family, and close friends.
Here is Jeff’s story from Jeff’s perspective (thank you to the Samaritan Health Services who captured his story in their magazine):
Life can throw some serious obstacles at you, some out of your control and some by your own poor
choices, according to Jeff Sutton, 65, of Lincoln County. Fortunately for him – and many others in distressing situations – help was available through Coastal
Phoenix Rising, a program supported in part by Samaritan Health Services.
The phoenix, a beautiful, immortal bird of mythology, symbolizes rebirth and growth. And the program’s
acronym, CPR – referencing the life-saving medical treatment – was intentional, said Sheila Stiley,
executive director of Northwest Coastal Housing, the nonprofit that operates the facility.
Sutton was one of the first residents at Coastal Phoenix Rising when it opened in February 2021. He
agrees that CPR has given him the opportunity for a different and, hopefully, better life. In a
handwritten note from September 2021, Sutton wrote:
“In addition to the excellent health care given me by Samaritan Health, Coastal Phoenix Rising has been
instrumental during my ongoing recovery by providing a safe, clean, warm and stable environment,
allowing me to focus on the goal of achieving a full recovery. Their support, guidance, and the
availability of many resources I would have never known about otherwise has enabled me to progress
from the wheelchair to a walker, then to the cane.”
Sutton describes his life’s path as 30 years of bad choices followed by five years of being wiser, saner
and sober. While living in Simi Valley, California in 2015, his third wife left him and moved with their
three young children to South Beach, Oregon.
In 2019, he took medical retirement from his job at a rock mining company after being diagnosed with
congestive heart failure. That seemed to him a good time to move closer to his children in Oregon,
finding an apartment to rent in Newport. Last year, early in 2021, he was nearly felled by two major
heart attacks, spent six weeks mostly bedridden at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital, then had an
emergency amputation of half of his left foot after it turned gangrenous from poor circulation. During
this time, he also lost his apartment.
Samaritan Health Services would not discharge Sutton from the hospital without a home to return to
and a caregiver to assist. So, Samaritan referred him to Coastal Phoenix Rising. This former 42-bed motel
in the heart of Lincoln City offers care to discharged hospital patients, survivors of the Otis wildfires, and
others needing a safe place, resources and guidance to become self-supporting.
“When I first arrived here, I was wheelchair-bound, frequently needing assistance to go from the chair
to my bed, and vice versa,” Sutton wrote. He describes Coastal Phoenix Rising as “nothing but a positive
experience,” mentioning the nurse Valerie who followed up with his care. “She is such a blessing to me, such a cheering and loving person.”
Now, Sutton is able to walk without assistance and is actively looking for a new place to rent – not an
easy task with housing shortages throughout the county. Another bit of good fortune – he was hired by
CPR to work the front desk three nights a week and is able to remain in his room until he can find a
rental.
He said he has never before been called a “success story” but feels like those words could apply to him
now.
“I believe that the comfort, food resources, and caring staff at CPR have helped me immeasurably,
allowing my ongoing recovery to be successful enough to surprise even my doctors. I literally owe CPR
and Samaritan Health more than I could ever repay for saving my life,” he wrote.
