Vim & Vigor - Summer 2013 - Gwinnett Medical Center - (Page 50)

Mackenzie Hallmark holds one of her beloved cats, Wally. DelivereD from Devastation Mackenzie Hallmark with Romeo Massoud, MD, and Gina Solomon, RN, CCRN, trauma program manager, shortly after Hallmark was cleared to walk. Mackenzie Hallmark was so badly injured in a crash that doctors didn’t think she would survive. Thanks to GMC’s elite trauma and rehab centers, she is thriving T wo days before Christmas in 2009, 13 developmentally disabled adults were on a small bus, joyfully heading up Interstate 85 to an arts center to paint. At the same time, a person in a black car was driving erratically and aggressively. The car clipped the bus, sending the bus skidding out of control. Mackenzie Hallmark, 21, slammed through the side of the bus, leaving a hole in the metal the size of her body. Five others were ejected, but Hallmark was the most badly injured. Still conscious when emergency responders arrived, she said, “I’m broken. Call my mom.” Hallmark was taken to the Level II trauma center at Gwinnett Medical Center’s Emergency Department, where the trauma team, including trauma surgeon Romeo Massoud, MD, had been alerted to expect her. When her parents, Nicole and Tommy, arrived, Dr. Massoud was upfront about Hallmark’s condition. “I’m not 50 Su m m e r 2 013 going to sugarcoat this,” he told them. “I don’t think she’s going to make it.” Hallmark’s condition was extremely critical. She had internal bleeding that had to be controlled before they could address the other injuries: shattered pelvis, collapsed lung, and broken collarbone, wrist and femur. Today, Hallmark calls the hospital Gwinnett Miracle Center. Putting Mackenzie Back together Dr. Massoud and the trauma team were able to get Hallmark’s internal bleeding under control, and she was moved to the intensive care unit (ICU). At first she was on a respirator. True to her love of cats, once the respirator was removed, her first words were, “My cat sweater is gone.” She was wearing it at the time of the crash, and it

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Summer 2013 - Gwinnett Medical Center

Vim & Vigor - Summer 2013 - Gwinnett Medical Center
Contents
Phil’s Feature
ACL Double Take
Saving the Littlest Lives
The Ultimate Backto- School Checklist
Join the Movement
Stroke Stories
5 Steps to Better Bone Health
Gut Instinct
Morgan Freeman
Prostate Playbook
The Main Ingredient
Looking Ahead
Virtual Health
PrimeTime Health
Delivered from Devastation
A Big Reason to Smile
Out of the White Coat
Transforming Healthcare

Vim & Vigor - Summer 2013 - Gwinnett Medical Center