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OGDEN -- We use the word miracle a lot in our society to explain how someone survived what he or she wasn't expected to. According to national medical statistics, David Morris had less than a 1 percent chance of survival, but he made it.
One month after surviving severe trauma in a car accident, Morris is walking and talking again. His medical team that gave him very little chance of survival is now calling him "Miracle Man."
At 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 28, Morris was driving north on Interstate 15 near Kaysville. He remembers changing lanes, then crashing into a cement barrier.
"And I don't remember anything for probably eight days," Morris said.
AirMed quickly flew him to Ogden Regional Medical Center. He had hit the steering wheel with such force it blew a hole in his heart.
"The major hole in his heart was about a silver dollar-sized hole, right here, on the right atrium," explained Dr. Sheila Garvey, Trauma Center director at Ogden Regional Medical Center.
Garvey and her trauma team cut Morris' chest open and held that hole closed to stop the massive bleeding.
"You're not even supposed to do it, but I figured he had absolutely nothing to lose. He was dead already," Garvey said.
"All I can say is it's better than I have ever seen, because I have never seen anyone survive from this injury," said Dr. David Affleck, cardiovascular surgeon at Ogden Regional Medical Center.
On Wednesday, Morris was reunited for the first time since the accident with a flight nurse.
"We see the worst of the worst, and a lot of the time the outcome is not good. It's these rare moments that make sour job worth it," said Judy Owenby, registered nurse and AirMed flight crew member.
"The crew that worked on me, and kept working on me, and didn't give up—I survived. And I thank all of them," Morris said.
In the words of the trauma team, "Give us the first hour. We'll give you the rest of your life." In this case, it wasn't even an hour.
Morris said he's working toward more flexibility in his right hand, which has nerve damage, but he is alive and healing.
E-mail: cmikita@ksl.com
