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Last Updated: Mar 5, 2010 - 9:11 AM |
Last Thursday evening the BryanLGH Trauma Center honored Elisabeth Lemp and Derek Ruth as trauma survivors along with the professionals involved in saving their lives at a banquet at the Nebraska Champions Club in Lincoln. Elisabeth and Derek were honored for being survivors of extremely difficult trauma events. The emergency personnel, along with physicians, nurses, physical therapists and all other aspects of health professionals and support staff who had a part in the care and recovery of Elisabeth and Derek were honored as BryanLGH’s 2010 Trauma Champions.
Elisabeth is from the Duncan area and the mother of Sue (Jerry) Wilgocki of Columbus. Derek is the son of Royce and Jen Ruth of Malcolm and the grandson of John and Connie Makovicka of Surprise and Ron and Dorothy Ruth of Rising City.
On a summer evening in June 2008 Elisabeth and her husband, Harold, went to watch their granddaughter, Michelle Wilgocki, play in a softball game at Central City. A storm system rolled into the area after the game had started and after a few innings the game was called because of lightening. The couple left the field in their pickup and began to head back home east on Highway 30. The rain began to come down in sheets and soon after it began to hail. At that point Harold told Elisabeth, “I can’t see the road.” Her reply was, “Well head for the ditch.” In the next seconds they were in a collision with an oncoming semi.
Elisabeth described her next recollections as seeing a man with a flashlight standing above her and rain hitting her face. She said, “We’re hurt down here” and the gentleman with the flashlight said, “Can you hear the ambulance siren? Help is on the way.”
Robin Bogatz was one of the ambulance crew that was first on the scene. The crew immediately realized that the jaws of life would be required to extricate the couple from their twisted up vehicle. The crew did their best to help the couple through the initial stages of the rescue while they waited for the extrication equipment. One of the most vivid memories was seeing that Harold and Elisabeth were holding hands while they waited to be cut out of the pickup.
Once out of the truck, the emergency trauma teams kicked it into high gear. Harold had lost a lot of blood and had significant spine injuries. Because the weather was so bad there was no option to land a medical helicopter so he was loaded into an ambulance for the 90 minute drive to Lincoln.
Initially it seemed that while Elisabeth had significant injuries, it looked as though she was going to be relatively OK. That all began to change when she simply said, “I can’t breathe.” It then became apparent that she too, had extremely serious, life threatening problems internally. The tremendous force of the accident pushed Elisabeth’s spleen and stomach through the left diaphragm, which separates the lung and heart from digestive organs. The large vein from her heart had ruptured, spilling blood into her left lung.
The medical staff at the Central City Hospital drained her lung. They then drilled into a porous bone to dump fluids into her body.
Once she could be transported, Elisabeth was taken to the Trauma Center at BryanLGH where Dr. Reginald Burton was able to assess her situation with accurate detail, using all the varieties of the radiology scanning equipment. Basically, Elisabeth sustained multiple chest injuries, broken ribs and massive internal injuries. After her first surgery the damage and swelling was so great that they could not close the incision. The medical staff covered the wound with sterile materials to keep away infections. A couple of days later she was back in surgery to have more repair done to her intestines.
It would be nearly impossible to list every surgery and treatment that Elisabeth has gotten since that first night in the emergency room up to the current present day. It has been a grueling, difficult, at times torturous struggle to gain incremental progress. But, through faith, fortitude and rock solid determination along with family support and an amazing quality of medical treatment she has come through the recovery processes. It took a year to get her abdomen healed and they took away the last of her bandages about six weeks ago.
Harold passed away August 27, 2008 at the hospital from his injuries sustained in the accident.
Elisabeth was able to leave BryanLGH and was staying at the Covenant Home in Stromsburg over the last several months to complete the healing process and gain her strength back to the point where she can now start a new chapter in her life. She has moved to Branson, MO to live with her daughter, Nancy Roepke.
Elisabeth credits her strong faith, along with family support and the tremendous care she got from the great number of medical professionals for her healing and recovery. She looks forward to her new home and the chance to get back to a normal active routine.
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Derek Ruth is described by his mother, Jen, to be a determined, self motivated, leader who is a sports enthusiast.
In September, 11 year old Derek was playing running back in a midget football game at the Malcolm High School football field. Derek was running with the ball when he was tackled from behind and he lost the ball. It became apparent after the play that something was obviously wrong and soon after Derek collapsed on the sideline. Derek’s uncle, Michael Karel, PA-C was the first to assess Derek’s situation. It was determined quickly that Derek had suffered a serious head injury and that immediate medical attention was imperative. Derek was not responding to voice or physical stimulus.
The StarCare Helicopter was immediately summoned to the field and fifteen minutes after the injury Derek was on the helicopter headed to Lincoln. It took eight minutes to get Derek to the hospital and then into the emergency room.
The emergency medical staff began treating Derek by cooling his body. It has been determined that if the body is cooled to 32 degrees centigrade, which is moderate hypothermia, that the cell damage effects to the brain can be slowed and minimized in these types of brain injuries. Ice bags were packed around his head, neck, groin and armpits. He was administered iced IV’s, all to decrease the swelling damage to the brain.
Dr. Christopher Kent was brought in to do the brain surgery on Derek to try and repair as much of the damage as could be possible. A portion of Derek’s skull was removed and put into his abdomen to keep it viable. Derek’s bleeding and swelling were so severe on his brain that the portion of his skull that was removed had to stay off for a length of time to allow the swelling to go down and the necessary vein repair to be done.
The first MRI after the surgery was not a positive one. It looked as though there was significant cell damage done to Derek’s brain, to the point where they did not know if he would be able to see again, along with other lost body functions. Two days later, after another MRI, things looked much better, enough so, that it made the radiologist wonder if this was the same patient.
Since then it has been a slow and incremental progress in regaining function and mobility. Jen described how progress was measured by the littlest successes at first. Like being able to open an eye, then move a pinky. Waiting for months just to see him move a foot and then a leg. Each little victory can take days and weeks to accomplish. Derek has had the good fortune of having his grandfather, John Makovicka, as his physical therapist. Sessions with Grandpa John have been most productive, to the point where Derek can now work out on a treadmill, jump on one leg and he can catch and throw a ball. John describes his grandson as one of the most determined persons he has ever known. “The more you do, the more he wants to do. He never complains.”
Derek typed a message that was read by his mother at the banquet thanking all who have given him and his family support through the last several months. He is very grateful to the medical staff who saved his life and gave him the chance to survive and overcome challenges and obstacles. He looks forward to continuing his recovery and all the possibilities that lie ahead of him.
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Both Elisabeth and Derek and their families had the opportunity to thank their trauma champions as each one was honored. Trauma Champions from the Polk County area were John Makovicka, Michael Karel, Katherine Adkins, Jean Hopwood and Shirley Lindquist.
© Copyright 2010 by polkcountynewspaper.com
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