On a rainy day, a celebratory birthday trip turned into a devastating accident for Amy Wright, her stepdaughter Katy, and Katy’s three friends when a pickup hydroplaned into their car on Highway 71. Tragically, two of Katy’s friends died on impact. Amy and Katy, holding fragile grips on life, were rushed to University Medical Center Brackenridge (UMCB) for expert trauma care.

“We deluged the trauma center like we were from a war zone,” Amy recalls. “Katy had a serious brain injury, and I suffered a fractured neck, abdominal bleeding, and two broken arms. My right foot was almost completely severed at the ankle.”

Amy and Katy required expertise only found at a trauma center, including orthopedic trauma surgeons and traumatic brain injury specialists. Miraculously, Katy recovered from her brain injury and graduated from high school on schedule. Amy underwent nine surgeries over 18 months, including the reattachment of her foot and an elbow replacement. Six months later she was able to walk again. Today she stands in front of her high school math students with gratitude.

“Thanks to Seton and the trauma team, Katy and I survived, and we get this chance to make a meaningful difference with the rest of our lives.”

Teaching hospitals offer specialized services, such as trauma care, often not available at other medical facilities. The Level I adult trauma center currently at University Medical Center Brackenridge will make its new home in Seton’s premier teaching hospital. Your support of Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas ensures more families like Amy’s can find the expert care they need, in a modern facility, right here at home.

 

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