Devin’s Story: Multidisciplinary Care Helps Car Accident Victim Recover

Devin Moore: You cry every day, that's what I did. Every day I just wanted my mom to be there.

Valerie Moore (mother): They said Devin was in a bad car accident. I woke up, and I couldn't comprehend. I said, no, he's in his bed sleeping, and he wasn't. He was in a bad car accident.

Peter Ekeh, MD: Devin came to us by care flight from Springfield Regional Medical Center, and was transferred here because the recognized he had some severe injuries. I wanted him to get the care here at the Level One Trauma Center. I would say kudos to them for recognizing the extent of his injuries, because he certainly needed the care here.

Janae Moore (sister): To look at his body, you would think nothing was wrong. He only had scrapes on his hand. It was like you couldn't see no bruises on his face, nothing on his body, so you wondering like, what is wrong? What is it?

Peter Ekeh, MD: In Devin's particular case, he had injuries to his pelvis which were quite severe, and needed to be dealt with, but not in the immediate few hours after he arrived. He had a rupture in his bladder, and that was something that needed to be addressed quite promptly. He had an injury to his aorta, which we had to get consultants to see, and he had some of our vascular surgeons see him. Eventually that was managed non-operatively. The bladder injury had to go to the operating room pretty quickly, and he went to surgery within an hour after arriving. I did that initial operation.

He was under my care for the initial few hours after he arrived in the hospital, and then he went to the intensive care unit. He had a prolonged course after that, because probably close to about a week into his care, he kind of deteriorated, and he took a real bad turn for the worse. He was really close to death.

Valerie Moore (mother): Every time something didn't work, Miami Valley tried something else and something else. It's almost like they was putting back a [inaudible 00:03:03] man, and they did it with the grace of God. They done it. He died three times, they brought him back. They didn't give up on him. They didn't give up on him at all.

Peter Ekeh, MD: His intestinal contents were coming out from wounds in his abdomen, so it was a very complicated situation he had at the time he went home. He was sent to the outside to a long term care facility, and I continued to follow him all throughout this period, so of course our care as a trauma center does not end when the patient walks out of the door.

Valerie Moore: They never once stopped me from hoping. They never once, and I tried to get the nurses ... I'm a loving person, and I couldn't get to them one time to say it's no hope for your child.

Felipe Rubio, MD: Devin Mora had a large abdominal wound that required a close surgical follow up. His surgeons eventually had to surgically close the fistula, because the fistula did not close spontaneously. He continued to drain, so the surgeons were able to provide the services that he needed to eliminate the fistula, and finally allow the wound to fully heal.

Peter Ekeh, MD: That was a complicated operation which we performed here, where we reconstructed his abdomen and took care of all the areas where his intestine was abnormal, put him back together, restored his intestinal continuity, and he did quite well. Remarkably well from that operation.

Felipe Rubio, MD: When Devin came back from Miami Valley Hospital surgical repair of his fistula, we were able to take the trake out. We were able to take some of the other tubes out, and then he began to have more active physical therapy, going down to the gym, going on the parallel bar, and getting him fully mobilized.

Valerie Moore: My son was here a couple days ago, and he stays in Virginia, and I was just so happy I could just spend that time with him finally at the hospital. I finally walked down the street to a bakery, got my son some donuts, and I never walked that far. I did it because of him, and I feel so good. I was like, I couldn't believe I did that. I really walked there.

Felipe Rubio, MD: That's the miracle of recovery, and when you're young, and he was young, and he had the A-team working with him after the accident, I think he was able to achieve that dream.

Peter Ekeh, MD: He was one of those individuals who people were really amazed at his progress and his recovery. Looking at him makes me and others in my team realize why we do what we do. We're very privileged and blessed to be in this opportunity to be able to use our skills and expertise to bring healing to people.

Devin Moore: I'm just so glad that I'm still here. I thank God for everything. I'm so glad my mom's still here with me, and everybody's still here with me. Thank God Dr. Aykay, the whole Miami Valley for real saved my life.

Janae Moore: For them to be so involved with trying to do for him, I could not thank you, because they gave him another chance to see what was going on in the world and it wasn't time.

Valerie Moore:  I wouldn't know what I would have done without Miami Valley, sir. It was so wonderful, you just don't know. I had my heart in the palm of my hands, and I went to Dr. Walusimbi, you ever heard of him? He's a wonderful doctor. His friend, I love him to death, Dr. Ekeh. Wow. They team, they had these young doctors and stuff every day. Everyday they'd never stop, never stop. I just asked God, please get in their head Lord. Do they hands. Make they hands strong for my child. I don't know what I would have done without Miami Valley. I don't think no other hospital could have done this. Not in Ohio. Oh no.