Medical City Healthcare | Take Care | Fall 2018

HIRAM MARIN was volunteering at his church when his good deed went awry. As the 32-year-old was standing on a ladder installing cables, he fell through the roof and landed on his back. Back & spine in 90,000 ER visits annually. Those cases usually surge starting in the fall and peak over the holidays when people are decorating in and around their homes. Tip-top treatment Hiram said he is grateful for medical ad- vances in spine surgery that allowed him to get back on his feet and resume a normal life. “I feel very blessed through all of this,” he said. “I’m grateful for the people who helped me after the fall, all of the doctors, nurses and case managers at the hospital, and my family.” “I knew I had fallen 14 feet, but I felt fine at first,” Hiram said. “I remember everyone around me being much more concerned than I was.” Despite the pleas of others, Hiram drove home and did not see a doctor until three days later, when he ended up at Medical City Arlington’s Level III Trauma Center, the only designated trauma center in Arlington. Scans revealed major damage to his C6 vertebra, which is near the base of the neck and often corresponds with spinal cord injuries. A fortunate outcome “I’ve seen fractures of this type that had very different outcomes,” said Gregory Ward, MD, a Medical City Arlington neurosurgeon who repaired Hiram’s spine. “Hiram could have been paralyzed. He was very lucky that our trauma center was nearby.” According to the Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention, falls from ladders result 14-FOOT FALL Watch Hiram talk about his injury and recovery at MedicalCityHealthcare.com/ TakeCare . 6