Initial Triage

She was immediately transported to Stanford University Hospital which is just 2 miles away. She was said to be “combative” and “lucid” upon her arrival to the hospital. A nurse later told me that the combative behavior was probably a result of her being in shock. I assured her that the combative behavior was a sign that she was in a completely lucid state. :)

The immediate triage showed a major wound to her left mid-section and a compound fracture of the left shin. The doctors determined that her left kidney and spleen were damaged beyond repair, so they took her into surgery to remove both. While in surgery, they also diagnosed and repaired a small tear in her aorta (the main line to the heart) and a small tear to the liver. They also determined that all her ribs on the left side were broken. Her left lung was collapsed, so they put her on a ventilator, supplemented by oxygen, and they put in a drainage tube on her left side to drain any excess fluids.

They also attached an external metal brace to her left lower leg to temporarily provide some stability, since part of the bone was missing. The leg wound and mid-section wounds remain open so that they will be able to go back in easily to perform any further repair as it becomes necessary. They have those areas sealed in a special vacuum dressing (kind of like fancy “saran wrap”), which will keep those areas sterile until she is strong enough to deal with more work to those areas.

So, much of Friday night was spent stabilizing her as much as possible, and then began the difficult task of counting her other injuries.