A Real-Life Trauma Hits Close to Home

David Thorsett, M.D., lives just a few miles from Salem Hospital and liked to commute to work by bicycle. He was doing just that at 6:30 the morning of Aug. 29, 2006, cycling to Salem Hospital to do a total knee replacement surgery.

During that short bike ride, his plans for the day—and the months ahead—changed.

No one knows exactly what happened. The physician assistant who was to help with the surgery, and who lives near the hospital, found Dr. Thorsett lying in the middle of the road, badly injured and unconscious.

The physician assistant called 9-1-1 and Dr. Thorsett started his journey as a trauma patient.

David had a severe chest injury, nine broken ribs and a badly bruised collapsed lung. His collar bone and three bones in his pelvis also were broken. His helmet, which was shattered by the impact, likely prevented a more serious head injury than the concussion he suffered.

The hospital’s trauma team provided the lifesaving care he needed. They put a chest tube in and admitted him. The next day when he wasn’t breathing well, David was transferred to the intensive care unit. There, to allow his chest injuries to heal, they put him on a ventilator and in a drug-induced coma, from which he awoke on day 10.

Caring for everyone involved
When David’s wife, Sarah, walked into the Salem Hospital emergency department, she didn’t know what to expect. She was immediately taken to her husband’s room, with the hospital chaplain by her side.

Sarah says the trauma team cared for her husband—and for her. “There was always someone asking me if I needed something. And if there was something I didn’t understand, they would describe it so that I did.

Nicole VanDerHeyden, M.D., Ph.D.

“Dr. Nicole VanDerHeyden was amazing,” says Sarah, referring to the hospital’s trauma services medical director. “From the minute I met her, she kept everything light, in spite of how serious it was. I felt at ease and was able to be involved.

“The days were long, with lots of family and friends coming by,” remembers Sarah. “The hospital chaplain also stopped by every day to see what I needed.”

On day 14, David was transferred to the hospital’s inpatient rehab program. When he went home two weeks later, he continued with extensive outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy. He returned to work part-time in January and full-time two months later.

“We’re doing great now; we’re back to normal,” says Sarah. “We had tons of support from family and friends. It took us six months to physically and emotionally get over it. We re-evaluated what’s important to us, we learned and we are better because of it.”

The Thorsetts offer these suggestions for when a loved one experiences a traumatic injury:

• Each person reacts to trauma differently. It’s natural if some family members want to be in the room with the trauma patient, while others prefer not to see their loved one that way.
• Be sure to listen to all the healthcare options.
• Keep communication open. Make sure loved ones know how you arrived at your decisions about the care to be provided.
• Remember this is an extremely stressful time for family and friends. Ask for and accept offers of help—from staff, family and friends.