In medical terms the word trauma means injury. A simple term encompassing a universe of potential harms. For the worst injuries, you want a Level I trauma center.
A Utah man named Duke Speer found himself needing just that in March of 2021.
A car vs. truck at high speeds. The kind of crash that shuts down the freeway. Duke Speer, with 42 years of experience on ski patrol, knew he was in trouble.
“The first responders from Park City Fire arrived and laughed at me through the window because I said…’Well, you got bilateral femurs and tibia, fracture, flail chest on the right side,’ and he’s going ‘Who the heck are you?” said Speer. Life Flight raced him to Intermountain Medical Center. “When they finally got me out, one of the things I remember on the ride was looking up at the rotors of the helicopter as it's taking me here. And fortunately arrived at this wonderful Level I trauma center, and a team of people went to work.”
“There’s always a trauma surgeon in the hospital, and a whole team, which includes nurse practitioners, physician assistants and residents available to take care of patients at a moment's notice,” said Dr. Dan Van Boerum, trauma medical director at Intermountain Medical Center.
With his litany of injuries, Speer needed the whole team for what they call Trauma I activation.
“A Trauma I activation are the patients that before they get to the hospital, it’s anticipated that they very well could have immediately life-threatening injuries due to hemorrhage or severe head injury. Or other things that can, can really end one's life quickly,” said Van Boerum.
“All of a sudden over the PA goes ‘Code Blue. OR three.’ And Tom White was the first run in to aid…there was 17 minutes of CPR, 22 units of blood,” said Speer. “And when you say 22 units, I don't know if people understand that means 22 different people donated blood in order to save his life,” said Van Boerum.
All that blood to keep his battered body alive.
Dr. Van Boerum looks at images of Speers’ body, rebuilt with hardware from his ribs to his feet.
“We have six fractures on the left femur for fractures on the right femur, tibia plateau and a couple of pieces. We have nine ribs that were fractured spleen lacerations, liver fracture hepatic artery burst sternum in two places, and a couple of stents and needed to be put in and drains and all those fun things,” said Van Boreum.
An amazing survival story made more amazing because in Level I trauma centers…it’s really what they do every hour of every day.
“And I'm ever so thankful to Dr. White and Dr. Morris for their work and their heroism, said Speer.
