Pearl Hartley is home

Two life-changing months finally came to an end on Friday, Sep. 30 when law enforcement, first responders and community members lined the streets of Mansfield to welcome home 6-year-old Pearl Hartley, the daughter of Sam and Alesha Hartley. Pearl was the victim of a gruesome dog attack back on July 29.
When the family arrived home, they were greeted by all of the first responders who responded on that scary summer day when Pearl was in critical condition and had lost a large amount of blood.
“That actually meant a lot to us,” Alehsa Hartley said. “Not only did it show us that the community was behind our journey of bringing Pearl home and getting her healed, it was extremely sentimental having all of the first responders who were here that day…Just being in our driveway to help transition us back to a space that didn’t feel safe any more. We had all of these wonderful people standing with us. It just basically said it is okay.”
For Pearl, she was excited to see all of her friends. But before that, she did take notice of the parade of signs aligning the streets when she arrived in town.
“She was like, this is for me?,” Alesha Hartley said. “Why are all of these people here, why are the sirens going off, is everything okay?...I told her it means a different thing. Instead of saving you, they are welcoming you back for all of the hard work you had done.”
Alesha noted that once she walked inside her home, she personally had “such a release of emotions.”
“It was just one of those things…it didn’t sink in until the next morning when we saw her in her own bed and she’s sleeping. And I got up and did my normal thing of getting coffee. I then heard her sweet little voice saying, ‘daddy, I got to go potty.’ It was like we got it back. It was not only overwhelming, but it was probably the greatest gift that I have ever been given. She was born and we have this little miracle baby going through fertility and we brought her home. This horrible thing happens and we thought we were going to lose her and we get to bring her home again.”
Going back to July 29
A couple of months prior to July 29, the Hartleys had brought in five breeder transfer dogs from an out-of-state facility, in which they were abused and kenneled for long periods of time. Two of those dogs were sick and severely underweight, one had an eye infection and all of the dogs had issues with their ears.
Alesha noted that Pearl would never go outside when the dogs were being transferred from the garage to a fenced-in yard so they could run and play. This is a process the family followed since Pearl was a baby as the Hartleys have a heart for rescue animals.
“We knew these dogs were off, but they hadn’t shown any aggression toward us, not even fear aggression,” Alesha noted.
With Pearl in her room, between the time the Hartleys walked around from the garge to the front door and returned inside for Alesha to put boots on, Pearl had walked into the garage to find them.
After going back into the garage to shut the feed door, Alesha said she walked outside and saw the dogs fighting. They were dragging Pearl from the front steps down the hill.
“I kicked them, I screamed, I threw myself on Pearl’s belly area and continued hitting,” she said. Even after two dogs ran off, two other dogs tried to pull Pearl from her arms.
After putting Pearl over her shoulder and running up the hill, she went into the house and called 9-1-1.
“After I got them off, I could tell right away that she lost so much blood, and if I didn’t get her somewhere quick, that she wasn’t going to make it,” Alesha said. “When I picked her up, I told her to just hang on. She looked up at me, her eyes were glassy and she said, okay mommy.”
Alesha said they told 9-1-1 there would be a need for an airlift.
They got Pearl in the car and wrapped her in a blanket.
“And as soon as we left the driveway and got to the top of the hill, I know she was slipping and I just kept screaming, no, no no,” Alesha said full of emotions. “I knew time was critical. I could feel it, I could see it.”
Her daughter, Kiara, 19, provided CPR going down Highway 60 on their way to the Missouri Ozarks Healthcare Clinic in Mansfield.
“I’m so thankful to God she (Kiara) went to do her nursing stuff; it saved her sister’s life,” Alesha added.
After noting an ambulance could get her somewhere faster due to the need for a blood transfusion, Pearl was taken to Mercy Hospital in Springfield.
Blood transfusions were immediately given and fragments were removed and grafts of hair were removed during a seven hour surgery.
Reconstruction was needed for the right side of her ear and her cheek had been bitten. One of the dog’s teeth were in Pearl’s neck where the artery was.
The doctor said a cleaner cut could not have been made in the coratid artery and noted it was a miracle.
Doctors sewed up her right bottom cheek as it had been torn, which later was a spot that was infected. Her legs were also cleaned out as one of her bones was showing on her right leg. Two ports were then put in her neck to drain.
She was then air lifted to Kansas City and the focus there was on her artery as well as the muscles in the neck that were completely shredded.
Seven different antibiotics were used to fight the infection, but mold made an appearance, which was a major cause of concern for the doctors.
For three days, it was uncertain if Pearl might survive the incident.
Alesha said around day four, she woke up and started talking. Then a Dr. Jiang noticed that some of her skin was starting to look better. Eventually, the wound vacs came off and a first dressing change happened with a wound care nurse. Surprisingly, the skin just started growing.
“The doctors were like ‘wow,” Alehsa said. “…After that fourth one, (the doctor) came back and said I don’t know. Sam said, ‘it was God.’”
With a need for screen grafting, Dr. Jiang was thinking Pearl might need to go to St. Jude’s in Ohio.
But then God stepped in some more. Her right leg’s muscle went from 90% gone to 60%. He felt more confident that he could do provide a needed proedure.
Soon after, Pearl was walking and the blood transfusions had finally stopped.
“As a family, we believe in prayer so much and to have everybody (praying), it just felt God ordained to have people surround her with prayers and the healing power that comes with it,” Alesha said. “…This little girl, people were just praying for her and it didn’t matter where it came from. They were focusing their prayers on our little Pearl.”
She went on to say, “Lord, I don’t know what you opened up in the heavens to bring this type of favor to our baby girl, we were just humbled,” Alesha noted.
What is next?
Now that Pearl is home, the focus is on getting swelling to go down in her feet. Wound changes take place every other day and pics are being sent to the doctor for updates. One skin graft site is being done on the left leg as it is not healing quickly. Pearl is walking with braces on and is doing exercises. She is also taking a lot of different medications. An appointment to look at the first grader’s artery is set for Nov. 7.
Meanwhile , the Hartleys are trying to refocus some efforts on their business, Anchor Tactical Supply, based out of Springfield. That business provides plate measurements for bullet proof vests, tactical gear and more, which can be found at https://www.anchortac.com/.
The Hartleys also have one son, Nick, who is currently serving in the Army, and a granddaughter.
For those wishing to help the family financially, The Seymour Saddle Club is holding a benefit event on Oct. 19.
Donations can also be made out to Pearl and sent to the business address at 2346 Campbell Ave., Springfield, MO 65807.
“It’s all, but God,” Alehsa said. “They said expect to spend Christmas here and we’re out before Halloween.”