Denver, Colo. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. Whether it’s a car crash, cancer treatment, major surgery or a natural disaster, donated blood saves millions of lives each year. And the American Red Cross reports we are currently in a chronic blood supply shortage. Ivanhoe introduces us to one man who survived against nearly impossible odds. And he survived because hundreds of people took the time to donate.
It started with a ride with friends. In a split second, it all changed.
A patch of gravel changed everything.
Nick Jackson recalls, “The very next thing I remember after that is waking up in the hospital, and it’s two weeks later.”
Nick suffered a traumatic brain injury, shattered pelvis, broken legs, broken hands and life-threatening internal bleeding.
“Incredibly broken, just all over,” says Kaysie Banton, MD, Trauma Surgeon at HCA HealthONE Swedish.
Doctors couldn’t stop the bleeding.
Doctor Banton explains, “We were just pouring blood into him, and he was pouring it out as fast as we could pump it in.”
Three days later, Nick had received 274 units of blood.
Doctor Banton says, “I told his family he had less than a five percent chance of survival.”
“I’m not supposed to be here. It’s just that simple,” states Nick.
When the bleeding stopped, the fight shifted from saving Nick’s life to helping him live it again.
Nick told Ivanhoe, “I had to learn how to walk again. I had to learn how to move.”
Months of rehabilitation followed. Today, the motorcycle has been replaced by something a little safer.
Nick says, “It’s truly a privilege. That’s how I treat it. So, in that manner, I want to do everything I can while I’m here.”
Now Nick is back to doing almost everything he loved before the crash.
“… Except for riding motorcycles. That’s about the only thing that I don’t do and just will not do,” says Nick.
HCA Healthone says Nick may hold a national record for the most blood products given to a surviving trauma patient — 274 units during three days of surgery and intensive care. Nick hopes his story reminds people that one blood donation can help save a life. And sometimes, it can take hundreds of donations to save just one life.
Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Producer; Matt Goldschmidt, Videographer; & Chuck Bennethum, Editor.
Source:
* For More Information, Contact: Missy Anderson, MBA, BSN, RN
Director of Trauma Services
HCA HealthONE
