Fraternity-Testvériség, 2003 (81. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2003-01-01 / 1. szám
FRATERNITY Page 13 The Best Donation You’ll Ever Make by Kathy A. Megyeri On a beautiful Sunday morning at Ski Liberty in Fairfield, PA, I succumbed to my first ever ski injury. At the top of Ultra, the most difficult slope on the mountain, my husband and I, who were free skiing together, stopped to survey the conditions alongside approximately eight or nine patrollers who were ready to engage in a training run and were poised with their toboggans. I remarked to my husband that maybe I should go first to get out of the way of their descent, and took off. After thirty years of skiing, I believed I was competent enough to make a controlled turn or two, but what I did not foresee was that in my first turn to the left, I hit some loose snow, fell forward, and whipped around like a whirlybird, but the left ski never broke loose from my boot. When I heard a snap and came to a halt on my back halfway down the slope, I knew I was in big trouble. The top of my left leg seemed totally disconnected from the lower leg, and the two parts of my leg seemed almost like they were swimming laps inside liquid. My husband, ever the optimist, skied up to me, took one look at my bulging left thigh and said I had probably sprained a muscle. Meanwhile, two patrollers skied to my aid, one with a toboggan and the other with a quick splint, which he immediately put on and around my upper left thigh. I held my leg in pain but kept enough presence of mind to realize that I needed to help raise my bottom enough to slide into the toboggan and assist in any way I could without screaming or making their task of loading me anymore difficult. Down we went, through a mogul field, to the back station where an ambulance would soon arrive. I begged the attending patrollers not to lift me to the examining table but to load me right into the ambulance because my thigh was bulging upward, and I wanted to save myself more jolting movements. Fortunately, I remained right in the sled while the patrollers took my vital signs and filled out the incident report. When the ambulance crew arrived, they immediately loaded me, cut off my pants and long underwear, kept talking to me, ascertained the damage, and together we traveled the eight miles to Gettysburg Hospital where I was admitted and sedated. The attending physician and his assistant took off my ski boots, and I was wheeled into X-ray where the confirmation that I had fractured my femur was made. Fortunately, one of Gettysburg’s finest orthopedic surgeons was on call that evening, and I was wheeled into surgery five hours later. The surgeon confirmed to my husband later that evening that although the femur’s break was so complete that he had to have assistance from another surgeon to join the two bone parts together to insert a rod, the quick splint and fast action had been the appropriate course of action especially because stabilization had been maintained. 1 remained in the hospital for 4 days and after receiving 2 blood transfusions, I am now in physical therapy and recuperating at home. For the last 20 years, I have been a blood donor myself and am also on the bone marrow donor list, but after this last injury, I was very nervous about receiving those blood transfusions in light of the woeful tales I’ve recently heard concerning some contaminated blood. When my own previous surgeries were scheduled years ago (for gall bladder and a hysterectomy), I was always careful about donating my own blood ahead of time in case it was needed, and it was both times. But when accidents occur, one doesn’t have the luxury of donating one’s own blood ahead of time, so one has to place faith in the doctor’s and hospital’s testing of the donated blood. Following any surgery, when one’s blood count is low, dizziness and weakness can further complicate recovery, and I knew from experience that when I received transfusions, it was like my body had been jump-started, and I felt whole again. The point I wish to make here is that blood donations are important; it’s the one contribution each member of HRFA can make that will make a difference to another. As you know, the HRFA is more than an insurance company; it is a charitable organization collectively contributing good works to the community. By donating blood, you continue the good works of the Federation in an individual way. I pray you will never need those units, but if you ever do, remember that a fellow Federation member probably cared enough to help jump-start your own recovery too. Schedule a donation when the blood bank comes to your community, and I guarantee it will be one of the most valuable contributions you could ever make to another person. To learn more about blood donation opportunities, visit www.givelife.org or call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (1-800-448-3543). Give Blood - the Gift of Life
