A Surgery Success Story
Fall 2003
Rosa V. was on her way to pick up a friend to
go shopping on a busy Wednesday afternoon. It
was the day before Thanksgiving 2001. She was
unaware it would be the start of a long and difficult
journey - with a remarkably successful outcome.
“I got out to put something in the car.
I thought it (the car) was in park. The car started
to roll back, the door was open and it hit me
to the ground,” Rosa said. The car rolled
over her side and lacerated her liver.
Rosa, 65, of Atlantic City, was conscious as
she was transported to the emergency room of
a nearby hospital. “I could hear people
talking and see faces,” she said. “I
remember saying ‘no blood, no blood,’ Rosa
recalled. As a Jehovah’s Witness, Rosa
will not accept blood transfusions or blood products.
Her family faced a dilemma. Rosa, who has six
children and 13 grandchildren, had serious internal
bleeding and was slipping into a coma. The local
hospital refused to perform surgery without giving
a blood transfusion.
“I was very, very sick. They told my son-in-law
that I wasn’t going to make it. My son-in-law
started calling other hospitals. It was Thanksgiving
Day when he reached Dr. Kirkland.” Dr.
Matthew Kirkland, part of Pennsylvania
Hospital’s surgical staff, agreed to
perform the surgery.
“My family said that Dr. Kirkland was
waiting for me when we arrived, he told my family
I had probably about a 15% chance to live ” Rosa
said. Dr. Kirkland recalled the severity of Rosa’s
condition upon arrival at Pennsylvania Hospital. “With
her type of injuries,” he said, “most
people die even if they accept blood.”
She had Grade V laceration of the liver. She
was profoundly anemic and required urgent surgery
to stop the ongoing bleeding. In addition to
the liver, she also sustained a crushed bile
duct injury. “Most injuries of this type”,
Dr. Kirkland said, “would have a 75% -
95% mortality rate.”
Rosa spent over two months recovering at Pennsylvania
Hospital. She was discharged to a rehabilitation
hospital in New Jersey for another month. However,
by the following June, she was doing much better. “ I was fine by then from
the accident,” she said.
Today, Rosa, a retired nurse’s aide, has
fully resumed her normal activities. She is actively
involved in her congregation, enjoys cooking
and spending time with her family. “I am
driving again,” she added, “but
not the same car. I wouldn’t drive that
car again, so my husband bought me a nice, new
one!”
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